Verb · irregular
dar
to give
The thing that catches people out
¿me da? is the everyday way to ask for something in a shop across Latin America, softer than quiero and shorter than quisiera.
Present
What happens, and what is happening now.
| yo | doy | |
| tú | das | |
| él, ella, usted | da | |
| nosotros | damos | |
| ellos, ustedes | dan | |
| vosotros, Spain only | dais |
Preterite, the finished past
Something that happened and is over: yesterday, last year, once.
| yo | di | |
| tú | diste | |
| él, ella, usted | dio | |
| nosotros | dimos | |
| ellos, ustedes | dieron | |
| vosotros, Spain only | disteis |
Imperfect, the background past
What used to happen, or was going on when something else happened.
| yo | daba | |
| tú | dabas | |
| él, ella, usted | daba | |
| nosotros | dábamos | |
| ellos, ustedes | daban | |
| vosotros, Spain only | dabais |
Future
Will do. In conversation, ir a plus the verb is more common: voy a comer.
| yo | daré | |
| tú | darás | |
| él, ella, usted | dará | |
| nosotros | daremos | |
| ellos, ustedes | darán | |
| vosotros, Spain only | daréis |
Present perfect
Have done. Used far more in Spain, where it covers today; most of Latin America uses the preterite there.
| yo | he dado | |
| tú | has dado | |
| él, ella, usted | ha dado | |
| nosotros | hemos dado | |
| ellos, ustedes | han dado | |
| vosotros, Spain only | habéis dado |
Other forms
The -ing form, the form that follows he, has and ha, and how to tell someone to do it.
| -ing form | dando | |
| participle | dado | |
| command, to tú | da | |
| command, to usted | dé |
In a sentence
¿me da la cuenta?
can I have the bill?
me da igual
it makes no difference to me