boire
to drinkIrregularਇਹ ਕਿਰਿਆ ਨਿਯਮ ਨਹੀਂ ਮੰਨਦੀ — ਹਰ ਰੂਪ ਵੱਖਰਾ ਯਾਦ ਕਰਨਾ ਪੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ।
| Person | Presentnow, habits | Passé composécompleted past | Imparfaitongoing past | Futur procheabout to | Futur simplewill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | boissounds the same as another form in this tense | ai bu | buvaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vais boire | boiraisounds the same as another form in this tense |
| tu | boissounds the same as another form in this tense | as busounds the same as another form in this tense | buvaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vas boiresounds the same as another form in this tense | boirassounds the same as another form in this tense |
| il/elle | boitsounds the same as another form in this tense | a busounds the same as another form in this tense | buvaitsounds the same as another form in this tense | va boiresounds the same as another form in this tense | boirasounds the same as another form in this tense |
| nous | buvons | avons bu | buvions | allons boire | boironssounds the same as another form in this tense |
| vous | buvez | avez bu | buviez | allez boire | boirezsounds the same as another form in this tense |
| ils/elles | boivent | ont bu | buvaientsounds the same as another form in this tense | vont boire | boirontsounds the same as another form in this tense |
Now, and habits. bois covers both "I drink" and "I am drinking" — French has no separate continuous form.
A completed past action. avoir conjugates and bu does not — ai bu.
An ongoing or habitual past. Built on the nous-present stem, so buvons gives you buvais.
About to happen. aller conjugates; boire never moves — the easier future to produce under pressure.
Will happen. Built on boir-, which is just the infinitive, so only the endings are new.
Three more forms worth knowing
Not among the five TEF/TCF-scored tenses above, but common past A1–A2.
Passé récentjust happened
| je | viens de boire |
|---|---|
| tu | viens de boire |
| il/elle | vient de boire |
| nous | venons de boire |
| vous | venez de boire |
| ils/elles | viennent de boire |
Impératifcommands — no je/il/ils form
| tu | bois |
|---|---|
| nous | buvons |
| vous | buvez |
Gérondifwhile doing — one invariant form
en buvant
What this table tells you about boire
The past participle is bu, and it takes avoir in the passé composé — so it never changes shape, whoever the subject is. No agreement to remember here.
The futur simple is built on boir-, which is just the infinitive — the endings are the whole story, nothing new to learn for this tense.
In the present, je, tu and il/elle are one sound: bois, boit — indistinguishable spoken. Only nous, vous and ils/elles carry an audible ending.
The imparfait is built on the nous-present stem, so once you know buvons you already know buvais, buvait and buvaient. Futur proche keeps boire untouched.