FrenchConjugationPassé Composé

Donner (to give) · Passé Composé

By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated May 22, 2026

Donner in the French passé composé is: j'ai donné, tu as donné, il/elle/on a donné, nous avons donné, vous avez donné, ils/elles ont donné. The passé composé of donner uses AVOIR + participle 'donné'. 'Je lui ai donné un cadeau' = 'I gave him a gift'. Standard regular -er passé composé.

donner conjugation in the Passé Composé
To Give	Donner
I gave	j'ai donné
you gave	tu as donné
he/she gave	il/elle/on a donné
we gave	nous avons donné
you gave	vous avez donné
they gave	ils/elles ont donné

Examples

Donner (to give) in context

Sentences that use donner in the passé composé. Tap each to hear it.

Je lui ai donné un cadeau.

I gave him/her a gift.

Tu as donné quoi à Marie?

What did you give Marie?

Elle a donné de son temps aux bénévoles.

She gave her time to the volunteers.

Nous avons donné beaucoup d'argent à la cause.

We gave a lot of money to the cause.

Vous avez donné votre meilleur effort.

You gave your best effort.

Ils ont donné une fête fantastique.

They threw a fantastic party.

Tip

Working with the passé composé

The passé composé is French's dominant past tense — used in almost every spoken past reference ("j'ai mangé" = "I ate" or "I have eaten"). It's a COMPOUND tense formed with an auxiliary (avoir for most verbs, être for ~17 motion/state verbs and all reflexives) plus a past participle. Two things to memorise: which verbs take être (aller, venir, partir, sortir, arriver, monter, descendre, naître, mourir, rester, tomber, devenir, retourner, entrer, rentrer, passer, revenir — the so-called "house of être"), and agreement rules (être verbs agree with the subject; avoir verbs only agree with a preceding direct object).

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How do you form the passé composé of donner?

Use avoir + the past participle 'donné' (drop -er, add -é): j'ai donné, tu as donné, il a donné, nous avons donné, vous avez donné, ils ont donné. Standard regular -er pattern.

Does 'donné' agree with a direct object?

Since donner takes avoir, 'donné' is invariable in standard cases. Exception: a preceding direct object triggers agreement ('la fleur que je lui ai donnée' = the flower I gave him — feminine singular). The avoir-verb rule applies here.

When do I use 'j'ai donné' instead of 'je donnais'?

Use 'j'ai donné' for a specific completed giving: 'hier, je lui ai donné un livre' (yesterday, I gave him a book). Use 'je donnais' for habitual past giving: 'chaque année, je donnais à la même charité' (every year, I used to give to the same charity).