Beber or tomar?
Beber = to drink (in general): bebo mucha agua. Tomar = to have (food or drink), more common when ordering: voy a tomar un café. In Latin America, tomar on its own often means drinking alcohol. And beberse = to drink up.
Indicative tenses of beber
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | beboI drink |
|---|---|
| tú | bebesyou drink |
| él/ella/usted | bebehe/she drinks |
| nosotros/as | bebemoswe drink |
| vosotros/as | bebéisyou all drink |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | bebenthey drink |
When ordering, tomar is more common: ¿qué vas a tomar?
Preterite indicative
| yo | bebíI drank |
|---|---|
| tú | bebisteyou drank |
| él/ella/usted | bebióhe/she drank |
| nosotros/as | bebimoswe drank |
| vosotros/as | bebisteisyou all drank |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | bebieronthey drank |
Imperfect indicative
| yo | bebíaI used to drink |
|---|---|
| tú | bebíasyou used to drink |
| él/ella/usted | bebíahe/she used to drink |
| nosotros/as | bebíamoswe used to drink |
| vosotros/as | bebíaisyou all used to drink |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | bebíanthey used to drink |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy bebiendoI am drinking |
|---|---|
| tú | estás bebiendoyou are drinking |
| él/ella/usted | está bebiendohe/she is drinking |
| nosotros/as | estamos bebiendowe are drinking |
| vosotros/as | estáis bebiendoyou all are drinking |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están bebiendothey are drinking |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a beberI am going to drink |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a beberyou are going to drink |
| él/ella/usted | va a beberhe/she is going to drink |
| nosotros/as | vamos a beberwe are going to drink |
| vosotros/as | vais a beberyou all are going to drink |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a beberthey are going to drink |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | beberéI will drink |
|---|---|
| tú | beberásyou will drink |
| él/ella/usted | beberáhe/she will drink |
| nosotros/as | beberemoswe will drink |
| vosotros/as | beberéisyou all will drink |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | beberánthey will drink |
Conditional indicative
| yo | beberíaI would drink |
|---|---|
| tú | beberíasyou would drink |
| él/ella/usted | beberíahe/she would drink |
| nosotros/as | beberíamoswe would drink |
| vosotros/as | beberíaisyou all would drink |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | beberíanthey would drink |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he bebidoI have drunk |
|---|---|
| tú | has bebidoyou have drunk |
| él/ella/usted | ha bebidohe/she has drunk |
| nosotros/as | hemos bebidowe have drunk |
| vosotros/as | habéis bebidoyou all have drunk |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han bebidothey have drunk |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había bebidoI had drunk |
|---|---|
| tú | habías bebidoyou had drunk |
| él/ella/usted | había bebidohe/she had drunk |
| nosotros/as | habíamos bebidowe had drunk |
| vosotros/as | habíais bebidoyou all had drunk |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían bebidothey had drunk |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré bebidoI will have drunk |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás bebidoyou will have drunk |
| él/ella/usted | habrá bebidohe/she will have drunk |
| nosotros/as | habremos bebidowe will have drunk |
| vosotros/as | habréis bebidoyou all will have drunk |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán bebidothey will have drunk |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría bebidoI would have drunk |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías bebidoyou would have drunk |
| él/ella/usted | habría bebidohe/she would have drunk |
| nosotros/as | habríamos bebidowe would have drunk |
| vosotros/as | habríais bebidoyou all would have drunk |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían bebidothey would have drunk |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of beber
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | beba(that) I drink |
|---|---|
| tú | bebas(that) you drink |
| él/ella/usted | beba(that) he/she drinks |
| nosotros/as | bebamos(that) we drink |
| vosotros/as | bebáis(that) you all drink |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | beban(that) they drink |
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | bebiera(if) I drank |
|---|---|
| tú | bebieras(if) you drank |
| él/ella/usted | bebiera(if) he/she drank |
| nosotros/as | bebiéramos(if) we drank |
| vosotros/as | bebierais(if) you all drank |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | bebieran(if) they drank |
Future subjunctive
| yo | bebiere(if) I drink |
|---|---|
| tú | bebieres(if) you drink |
| él/ella/usted | bebiere(if) he/she drinks |
| nosotros/as | bebiéremos(if) we drink |
| vosotros/as | bebiereis(if) you all drink |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | bebieren(if) they drink |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya bebido(that) I have drunk |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas bebido(that) you have drunk |
| él/ella/usted | haya bebido(that) he/she has drunk |
| nosotros/as | hayamos bebido(that) we have drunk |
| vosotros/as | hayáis bebido(that) you all have drunk |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan bebido(that) they have drunk |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera bebido(if) I had drunk |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras bebido(if) you had drunk |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera bebido(if) he/she had drunk |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos bebido(if) we had drunk |
| vosotros/as | hubierais bebido(if) you all had drunk |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran bebido(if) they had drunk |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere bebido(if) I will have drunk |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres bebido(if) you will have drunk |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere bebido(if) he/she will have drunk |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos bebido(if) we will have drunk |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis bebido(if) you all will have drunk |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren bebido(if) they will have drunk |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of beber
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | bebedrink! |
|---|---|
| usted | bebadrink! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | bebamoslet's drink! |
| vosotros/as | bebeddrink! (you all) |
| ustedes | bebandrink! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no bebasdon't drink! |
|---|---|
| usted | no bebadon't drink! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no bebamoslet's not drink! |
| vosotros/as | no bebáisdon't drink! (you all) |
| ustedes | no bebandon't drink! (you all, formal) |
Practice beber
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and beber.
How to use beber
Bebo mucha agua.
I drink a lot of water.
No bebo alcohol.
I don't drink alcohol.
Se bebió toda la botella.
He drank the whole bottle.
¿Quieres algo de beber?
Do you want something to drink?
Bebe más agua.
Drink more water.
Example sentences with beber
- ¿Qué bebes?What are you drinking?
- Bebimos vino en la cena.We drank wine at dinner.
- De pequeño bebía mucha leche.As a kid I drank a lot of milk.
- Beberemos algo después.We'll have a drink later.
- ¿Beberías agua del grifo?Would you drink tap water?
- No bebas tan rápido.Don't drink so fast.
- Ha bebido demasiado.He's had too much to drink.
- Estoy bebiendo un zumo.I'm drinking a juice.
Verbs like beber
Beber follows the regular -er pattern, just like comer. For ordering drinks, tomar is the most common verb.
Frequently asked questions about beber
Is beber regular or irregular?
Beber is completely regular. It follows the normal -er pattern in every tense.
How do you conjugate beber in the present tense?
bebo, bebes, bebe, bebemos, bebéis, beben.
How do you conjugate beber in the preterite?
bebí, bebiste, bebió, bebimos, bebisteis, bebieron.
Beber or tomar?
Beber is "to drink" in general. Tomar is "to have" and is more common when ordering in a bar.
How do you say "something to drink" in Spanish?
Algo de beber or algo para beber. A drink is una bebida.
What is the past participle of beber?
The past participle is bebido and the gerund is bebiendo.
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