Beber and Tomar are the same word, meaning “to drink”. However, these words have different meanings in Spanish. They differ based on their gender and case. In this article, we will explain the difference between Beber and Tomar.
Summary Table
| Beber | Tomar |
| To drink | To take |
| Differ in accusative, dative, and prepositional cases (a) | Differ in accusative, dative, and prepositional cases (de) |
| Usually to refer to alcoholic drinks | Usually refer to non-alcoholic drinks |
Definitions
Beber is a verb, and it means “to drink.” It is used in the present tense, but it also exists as a past tense. For example:
Eu bebi uma cerveja no bar → I drank a beer in the bar.
Eu bebi um copo de vinho → I drank a glass of wine.
Tamar is also a verb, and it means “to take”, but it is used in the perfect tense. For example:
Eu tomou uma cerveja no bar → I drank a beer in the bar (I take a beer to drink).
Eu tomou um copo de vinho → I drank a glass of wine (I take a wine to drink).
Beber vs Tomar
The stem of Beber is ‘be-’ and the stem of Tomar is ‘tom-’. In other words, the roots of these two verbs are different. When they appear in the present tense, they have different endings: -o, -as, -a, -emos, -ais, and -an. Beber is used to refer to more direct actions “to drink”, while Tomar is used to refer to more general actions “to take”.
In order to distinguish between these two words, we have to know that there are three cases that these verbs can be used in. The first is the accusative case, in which we use it to talk about a thing (e.g. “I have a drink”). The second is the dative case, where we use it to talk about a person (e.g. “You can drink on your own”).
Finally, we have the prepositional case, which is used to classify a person (e.g. “I drink a lot”). For example, in Spanish, the preposition “de” is used when talking about someone taking something (Tomar). In Spanish, the preposition “a” is used when talking about someone drinking something (Beber).
Beber “to drink” is considered as drinking alcoholic beverages like wine and beer. Tomar “to take” is generally used to refer to the consumption of non-alcoholic beverages like water and soda.
Beber is used to refer to the consumption of alcoholic beverages, as well as other non-alcoholic liquids. In Spain, it is also used to refer to the act of drinking tea. Tomar is a verb that describes the act of consuming food or liquid. It is used to refer to the action of eating, drinking, or consuming any type of liquid. In Spanish, it can also be used in reference to the act of eating soup.
