French Phrase
Je bois un verre d'eau.
Meaning
Literally, ‘I drink a glass of water.’ It is a straightforward statement about the speaker’s current action of drinking water from a glass.
When to use
Use this sentence when you want to tell someone what you are drinking, when you’re at a restaurant, café, or at home, or simply to answer the question ‘What are you drinking?’
✦Grammar Breakdown
Jeboisunverred'eau
Subject pronoun (Je)
‘Je’ is the first‑person singular subject pronoun meaning ‘I’.
Present tense of boire (bois)
‘Bois’ is the 1st‑person singular present form of the verb ‘boire’ (to drink).
Indefinite article (un)
‘Un’ is the masculine singular indefinite article, used before a masculine noun.
Noun gender (verre)
‘Verre’ (glass) is masculine, so it takes ‘un’ not ‘une’.
Partitive construction (d')
‘d’’ is the contracted form of ‘de’ used before a vowel; it links ‘verre’ with ‘eau’ to mean ‘glass of water’.
Noun (eau)
‘Eau’ (water) is feminine, but its gender does not affect the preceding masculine ‘verre’.
🗨In Conversation
Je bois un verre d'eau.
I’m drinking a glass of water.
Tu as soif ?
Are you thirsty?
✕Common Mistakes
Je bois une verre d'eau.
‘Verre’ is masculine; the correct article is ‘un’.
Je boit un verre d'eau.
‘Boit’ is the 3rd‑person singular form; with ‘je’ you need ‘bois’.
Je bois un verre de l'eau.
‘De l’eau’ would mean ‘some water’, not ‘a glass of water’. The phrase ‘un verre d’eau’ is the idiomatic way to specify the container.
↔Alternatives
Je prends un verre d'eau.
I’m having a glass of water.
Je me désaltère avec un verre d'eau.
I’m quenching my thirst with a glass of water.
Je bois de l'eau.
I’m drinking water.
Cultural Tip
In France, water is often offered as either ‘eau plate’ (still) or ‘eau gazeuse’ (sparkling). If you want a glass of water at a restaurant, you can simply say ‘Un verre d'eau, s’il vous plaît.’ Asking for a carafe (‘une carafe d'eau’) is also common, especially in cafés where water is served in larger containers to share.