Learn French: Tu as soif ? Tu bois une limonade ? - Are you thirsty? Are you drinking a lemonade?

In English, we say "I am thirsty," using the verb "to be." But in French, you use the verb avoir (to have) for basic physical feelings like thirst, hunger, and being cold. So Tu as soif literally translates to "You have thirst."

How is the verb boire (to drink) conjugated here?

Boire is an irregular verb, which means it doesn't follow standard spelling patterns. Here it is matched with tu (informal you), so it becomes bois. The singular forms are: je bois (I drink), tu bois (you drink), and il/elle/on boit (he/she/it drinks). Remember that the s at the end of bois is silent!

Does Tu bois mean "You drink" or "You are drinking"?

It means both! French does not have a separate "-ing" tense (present continuous) like English does. The single present tense form tu bois covers both "you drink" (as a general habit) and "you are drinking" (happening right now).

There are no question words here like "do" or "are". How do we know these are questions?

In everyday conversational French, the most common way to ask a simple yes/no question is just to use a normal sentence structure and raise the pitch of your voice at the end. On paper, only the question mark tells you it is a question instead of a statement.