Beure means “to drink.” Its conjugation is best organized around bec – bevem – bevia – beguí – beuré – begui – begut. The present singular and third-person plural lose the v seen in bevem/beveu; the velar family has beg-; future and conditional use beur-; and the gerund returns to bev-. There is no incoative -eix- and no defectivity.
The ordinary transitive pattern is beure aigua, cafè, vi. Beure de instead names a source or container (beure de l'ampolla), while pronominal beure's commonly presents a bounded drink as wholly consumed (s'ha begut tot el suc). English “drink” does not mark that aspectual contrast with a pronoun.
Nonfinite forms
| Form | Catalan | English guide |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | beure | to drink |
| Perfect infinitive | haver begut | to have drunk |
| Gerund | bevent | drinking |
| Perfect gerund | havent begut | having drunk |
| Participle | begut; beguda, beguts, begudes | drunk |
Compound tenses take haver plus invariable begut: les infusions que he begut. Adjectival agreement is possible when the form is truly adjectival or passive, but Catalan normally expresses intoxication with borratxo or begut according to context; English uses “drunk” both as a participle and an adjective and therefore invites confusion.
Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | bec | beus | beu | bevem | beveu | beuen |
| Imperfect | bevia | bevies | bevia | bevíem | bevíeu | bevien |
| Periphrastic past | vaig beure | vas beure | va beure | vam beure | vau beure | van beure |
| Simple past | beguí | begueres | begué | beguérem | beguéreu | begueren |
| Future | beuré | beuràs | beurà | beurem | beureu | beuran |
| Conditional | beuria | beuries | beuria | beuríem | beuríeu | beurien |
The form beu is both third-person present and familiar affirmative command; context supplies the subject or addressee. Do not extend the first-person c or subjunctive g to bevem/beveu. The future is formed from the infinitive and therefore has beur-.
Al matí bec cafè, però després de dinar prefereixo una infusió.
In the morning I drink coffee, but after lunch I prefer a herbal tea.
A casa dels avis bevíem aigua fresca de la font.
At our grandparents' house we used to drink fresh spring water.
Després de la caminada vam beure molt a poc a poc per recuperar-nos.
After the hike we drank very slowly to recover.
The periphrastic past is the neutral conversational choice. The synthetic past is standard, though often (formal/literary) in Central Catalan; regional spoken use varies.
Compound tenses and subjunctive
| Indicative tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | he begut | has begut | ha begut | hem begut | heu begut | han begut |
| Pluperfect | havia begut | havies begut | havia begut | havíem begut | havíeu begut | havien begut |
| Past anterior | haguí begut | hagueres begut | hagué begut | haguérem begut | haguéreu begut | hagueren begut |
| Future perfect | hauré begut | hauràs begut | haurà begut | haurem begut | haureu begut | hauran begut |
| Conditional perfect | hauria begut | hauries begut | hauria begut | hauríem begut | hauríeu begut | haurien begut |
| Subjunctive tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | begui | beguis | begui | beguem | begueu | beguin |
| Imperfect | begués | beguessis | begués | beguéssim | beguéssiu | beguessin |
| Present perfect | hagi begut | hagis begut | hagi begut | hàgim begut | hàgiu begut | hagin begut |
| Pluperfect | hagués begut | haguessis begut | hagués begut | haguéssim begut | haguéssiu begut | haguessin begut |
The velar beg- runs through both subjunctive tenses and the simple past. (Regional: Valencian) standard present-subjunctive forms are bega, begues, bega, beguem, begueu, beguen; the -ra imperfect (beguera, begueres...) is standard and common. The core stems are shared across Balearic, Northwestern and Northern varieties, with their usual regional subjunctive alternatives.
La metgessa vol que beguis més aigua mentre prenguis aquest medicament.
The doctor wants you to drink more water while you're taking this medicine.
No havia begut mai te fumat i al principi em va sorprendre molt.
I had never drunk smoked tea, and at first it surprised me a lot.
Si haguessin begut amb més moderació, haurien pogut tornar caminant.
If they had drunk more moderately, they could have walked home.
The following periphrastic rows complete the reference. The subjunctive forms are restricted (regional/formal) and are not the everyday replacement for begués.
| Periphrastic tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative past anterior | vaig haver begut | vas haver begut | va haver begut | vam haver begut | vau haver begut | van haver begut |
| Subjunctive past | vagi beure | vagis beure | vagi beure | vàgim beure | vàgiu beure | vagin beure |
| Subjunctive past anterior | vagi haver begut | vagis haver begut | vagi haver begut | vàgim haver begut | vàgiu haver begut | vagin haver begut |
Imperative and clitic placement
| Addressee | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | beu | no beguis |
| vostè | begui | no begui |
| nosaltres | beguem | no beguem |
| vosaltres | beveu | no begueu |
| vostès | beguin | no beguin |
Affirmative pronouns follow the command (beu-te'l, beveu-ne), while negative pronouns precede it (no te'l beguis, no en begueu). The partitive en replaces an indefinite quantity: Vols suc? En bec una mica. Pronominal beure's usually adds boundedness or total consumption rather than simple reflexivity.
Beu-te el brou abans que es refredi; t'anirà bé per a la gola.
Drink up the broth before it gets cold; it'll be good for your throat.
D'aquest licor, no en begueu gaire perquè és molt fort.
Don't drink much of this liqueur because it's very strong.
Direct drinks, sources, and characteristic collocations
The beverage is normally a direct object: beure aigua. Use de for the place or vessel from which one drinks: beure del got, de la font. A partitive de also follows overt quantity expressions, including negative quantifiers such as gens de vi, but negation alone does not license it: no bec vi. It should not be copied indiscriminately from French or inserted before every beverage.
El gat només beu aigua si la hi posem en un bol ample.
The cat only drinks water if we put it in a wide bowl for him.
No beguis directament de l'ampolla; encara l'hem de compartir.
Don't drink straight from the bottle; we still have to share it.
Common combinations include beure a glops, beure d'un glop, beure amb moderació, donar de beure and beure a la salut d'algú. Beure a galet is a culturally specific way of drinking from a spouted vessel without touching it to the lips. Plain beure without an object can mean consuming alcohol habitually; context determines whether it is neutral or implies a problem.
A la festa major vam beure a galet amb el porró, però jo vaig acabar ben xop.
At the town festival we drank from the porró without touching it to our lips, but I ended up soaked.
Brindem i bevem a la salut de la parella que avui comença una nova etapa.
Let's raise our glasses and drink to the couple beginning a new chapter today.
Common Mistakes
❌ Cada dia beguem cafè després de dinar.
Incorrect as present indicative—the first-person plural is bevem; beguem is subjunctive.
✅ Cada dia bevem cafè després de dinar.
Every day we drink coffee after lunch.
❌ La nutricionista vol que bevem dos litres exactes.
Incorrect if the clause requires present subjunctive; use beguem.
✅ La nutricionista vol que beguem prou aigua al llarg del dia.
The nutritionist wants us to drink enough water throughout the day.
❌ He bevit massa cafè i ara no puc dormir.
Incorrect—the participle is begut, not bevit.
✅ He begut massa cafè i ara no puc dormir.
I've drunk too much coffee and now I can't sleep.
❌ No beu-te aquesta llet; fa una olor estranya.
Incorrect—a negative command needs the subjunctive and preverbal pronouns.
✅ No et beguis aquesta llet; fa una olor estranya.
Don't drink this milk; it smells strange.
❌ El nen beu la font quan té set.
Incorrect for the source meaning—the fountain requires de.
✅ El nen beu de la font quan té set.
The child drinks from the fountain when he's thirsty.
Key Takeaways
Organize beure around bec, bevem, bevia, beguí, beuré, begui, and begut. Use the beverage as a direct object and de for the source, keep en for partitive quantities, and preserve the pronoun when bounded pronominal beure's is intended.
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