Dar (to give) · Preterite
By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated
Dar in the Spanish preterite (pretérito indefinido) is: yo di, tú diste, él/ella/usted dio, nosotros/as dimos, vosotros/as disteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes dieron. The preterite of dar describes a completed past act of giving. Unusually for an -ar verb, dar uses the -er/-ir preterite endings (di, diste, dio…) — its forms are identical in shape to the preterite of ver.
| To Give | Dar |
|---|---|
| I gave | yo di |
| you gave | tú diste |
| he/she gave | él/ella/usted dio |
| we gave | nosotros/as dimos |
| you gave | vosotros/as disteis |
| they gave | ellos/ellas/ustedes dieron |
Dar (to give) in context
Sentences that use dar in the preterite. Tap each to hear it.
I gave a gift to my mother.
Did you give the notes to Carlos?
My father gave me the car keys.
We took a very long walk on the beach.
You threw an incredible party.
The judges gave the prize to another candidate.
Working with the preterite
The preterite describes a finished past action with a clear boundary — "ayer comí pizza" (yesterday I ate pizza). The key contrast is with the imperfect, which describes ongoing or repeated past actions without a defined endpoint. If you can substitute "used to" or "was doing" in English, you usually want the imperfect; if the action is one-and-done, you want the preterite. The irregular preterites (fui, hice, dije, tuve, vine, supe) are the highest-frequency in Spanish — front-load them.
Frequently asked questions
How do you conjugate dar in the preterite?
Why does dar use -er preterite endings if it's an -ar verb?
Should I use 'di' (preterite) or 'daba' (imperfect)?
Practice Dar (To Give) in real conversations
TutorLily is your personal language tutor that catches every mistake gently and keeps the conversation going.
3-day free trial · Cancel anytime · 50+ languages
More tenses of Dar (To Give)
More verbs in preterite
Get the app