Today we’ll start with a high-level over view of one of the most essential verbs in Spanish: the verb “dar“, which is in English means “to give”. The second part contains a handful of extremely useful common expressions used in everyday spoken Spanish – completely must-learns for the serious Spanish learners!

Yo doy – I give

Tú das – You give

Él/ella da – He/she gives

Nosotros damos – We give

Ellos/ellas dan – They give

Ustedes dan – You(pl) give

For example:

Ella da una explicación al director. – She gives an explanation to the principal.

– She gives an explanation to the principal. Nosotros damos muchos regalos a los niños . – We give many gifts to the children.

. – We give many gifts to the children. Tú das la tarea a la maestra. – You give the homework to the teacher.

– You give the homework to the teacher. Yo doy las reglas a los estudiantes. – I give students the rules.

Pretty basic stuff…

…But there are also Spanish expressions that use the verb “dar”, and once you have learned the above which shouldn’t take too long – the below is the more interesting and essential stuff about DAR.

For example:

Te das cuenta de lo que está pasando. – You realize what is happening.

– You realize what is happening. Mi habitación da el Este. – My room faces the East.

– My room faces the East. Tú das de comer al gato. – You give food to the cat.

As you can see, by using “dar” in a different context in the sentence, or combining with other words – it can change the meaning of the word entirely.

Here I present a list of these idioms where we use the verb “to give”.

Dar a – to face

– to face Dar la vuelta – to turn, flip

– to turn, flip Dar un paseo – to take a walk, to take a ride, to go for a walk.

– to take a walk, to take a ride, to go for a walk. Dar a uno algo – to cause, to make, to produce (In this case the verb “DAR” uses conjugation: me da (dan), te da, le da, nos da, les da)

– to cause, to make, to produce (In this case the verb “DAR” uses conjugation: me da (dan), te da, le da, nos da, les da) Dar de comer – to feed

– to feed Dar la hora – to strike (the hour)

– to strike (the hour) Dar un golpe – to bump

– to bump Dar con alguien o algo – to meet, to come upon, to find someone (some-thing)

– to meet, to come upon, to find someone (some-thing) Dar la mano a alguien – to shake hands with someone

– to shake hands with someone Dar las gracias – to thank

– to thank Dar las buenas noches (días) – to say good night (morning)

– to say good night (morning) Dar pena – to be sad, worry

– to be sad, worry Darse prisa – to hurry up (prisa = urgency, speed)

– to hurry up (prisa = urgency, speed) Darse cuenta de – to realize, to be aware of (The verbs that use “se” are reflexive, then change “se” by: me, se, te, nos, se, for each subject, respectively.)

The next two verbs used the same way in Spanish as well as English:

Dar la señal – to give the signal

– to give the signal Dar a luz – to give birth

Here are some sentence-examples of using DAR in various forms:

La iglesia da hacia el parque. – The church faces the park.

– The church faces the park. El carro da la vuelta en la esquina. – The car turns the corner.

– The car turns the corner. Ellos dan un paseo por el parque. – They take a walk (a ride) through the park.

– They take a walk (a ride) through the park. Las películas de fantasmas me dan miedo – The ghost movies cause me afraid.

– The ghost movies cause me afraid. Ellos dan de comer a los caballos . – They feed the horses.

. – They feed the horses. El reloj dio las siete .- The clock struck seven.

.- The clock struck seven. Él dio un golpe a la puerta. – He bumped the door.

– He bumped the door. Yo di con mi amiga en la calle. – I met my friend on the street.

– I met my friend on the street. Él da la mano a la maestra. – He shakes hands with the teacher.

– He shakes hands with the teacher. Ella dio las gracias al hombre por su bondad. – She thanked the man for his kindness.

– She thanked the man for his kindness. Yo doy los buenos días a mis amigos. – I say good morning to my friend.

– I say good morning to my friend. Da pena que ellos viajen solos. – It is sad that they are traveling alone.

– It is sad that they are traveling alone. Date prisa , es tarde. – Hurry, it’s late.

– Hurry, it’s late. Me doy cuenta de que necesito comprar clases en Letsgospanish. – I realize I need to buy classes in Letsgospanish. – The Best Online Spanish School!)

– I realize I need to buy classes in Letsgospanish. – The Best Online Spanish School!) Ella da la señal de partida. – She gives the starting signal.

– She gives the starting signal. Mi tía dio a luz a una hermosa bebé. – My aunt gave birth to a beautiful baby.

Once again – thanks for reading!

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