5.5. Les verbes boire et prendre

The Verbs Boire and Prendre

5.5.1. The Main Idea

The verbs boire and prendre are very useful with food and drinks.

boire	to drink
prendre	to take / to have

In a café or restaurant, prendre often means to have or to order.

Je bois du café.	I drink coffee.
Je prends un café.	I am having / ordering a coffee.

5.5.2. The Verb Boire

je bois	I drink / I am drinking
tu bois	you drink / you are drinking
il boit	he drinks / he is drinking
elle boit	she drinks / she is drinking
nous buvons	we drink / we are drinking
vous buvez	you drink / you are drinking
ils boivent	they drink / they are drinking
elles boivent	they drink / they are drinking

5.5.3. The Verb Prendre

je prends	I take / I am taking / I am having
tu prends	you take / you are taking / you are having
il prend	he takes / he is taking / he is having
elle prend	she takes / she is taking / she is having
nous prenons	we take / we are taking / we are having
vous prenez	you take / you are taking / you are having
ils prennent	they take / they are taking / they are having
elles prennent	they take / they are taking / they are having

5.5.4. Boire with Drinks

Je bois de l’eau.	I drink water.
Je bois du café.	I drink coffee.
Je bois du thé.	I drink tea.
Je bois du lait.	I drink milk.
Je bois du jus d’orange.	I drink orange juice.
Je bois un chocolat chaud.	I drink / have a hot chocolate.

Use du, de la, de l’, or des when talking about an unspecified amount.

5.5.5. Prendre in a Café

Je prends un café.	I am having / ordering a coffee.
Je prends un thé.	I am having / ordering a tea.
Je prends un croissant.	I am having / ordering a croissant.
Je prends une salade.	I am having / ordering a salad.
Je prends un sandwich.	I am having / ordering a sandwich.
Je prends une bouteille d’eau.	I am having / ordering a bottle of water.

Je prends is useful when choosing from a menu.

5.5.6. Boire vs. Prendre

Je bois du café.	I drink coffee.
Je prends un café.	I am having / ordering a coffee.
Je bois de l’eau.	I drink water.
Je prends une bouteille d’eau.	I am having / ordering a bottle of water.
Je bois du thé.	I drink tea.
Je prends un thé.	I am having / ordering a tea.

Use boire to focus on drinking.

Use prendre to choose, order, or have something.

5.5.7. Questions with Boire and Prendre

Tu bois quoi ?	What are you drinking?
Vous buvez quoi ?	What are you drinking? formal or plural
Tu prends quoi ?	What are you having / ordering?
Vous prenez quoi ?	What are you having / ordering? formal or plural
Tu veux boire quelque chose ?	Do you want to drink something?
Vous voulez prendre quelque chose ?	Would you like to have something?

5.5.8. Negative Sentences

Je ne bois pas de café.	I do not drink coffee.
Je ne bois pas de lait.	I do not drink milk.
Je ne prends pas de café.	I am not having / ordering coffee.
Je ne prends pas de dessert.	I am not having / ordering dessert.

After ne… pas, du, de la, de l’, des, un, and une often become de or d’.

5.5.9. Core Patterns

boire + drink	to drink something
prendre + food/drink	to have / order something
Je bois ___ .	I drink ___ .
Je prends ___ .	I am having / ordering ___ .
Tu bois quoi ?	What are you drinking?
Tu prends quoi ?	What are you having?
Je ne bois pas de ___ .	I do not drink ___ .
Je ne prends pas de ___ .	I am not having ___ .

5.5.10. Practice

I drink water. |

I drink coffee. |

I am having a coffee. |

I am having a croissant. |

What are you drinking? informal |

What are you having? informal |

I do not drink coffee. |

I am not having dessert. |

5.5.11. Answers

I drink water.	Je bois de l’eau.
I drink coffee.	Je bois du café.
I am having a coffee.	Je prends un café.
I am having a croissant.	Je prends un croissant.
What are you drinking? informal	Tu bois quoi ?
What are you having? informal	Tu prends quoi ?
I do not drink coffee.	Je ne bois pas de café.
I am not having dessert.	Je ne prends pas de dessert.

5.5.12. Short Dialogue

A : Tu prends quoi ?	A: What are you having?
B : Je prends un café et un croissant. Et toi ?	B: I am having a coffee and a croissant. And you?
A : Je prends un thé. Tu bois souvent du café ?	A: I am having a tea. Do you often drink coffee?
B : Oui, je bois du café le matin.	B: Yes, I drink coffee in the morning.

5.5.13. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to conjugate boire and prendre, use boire to talk about drinking, use prendre to order or have food and drinks, and make simple questions and negative sentences with both verbs.