Dare (“to give”) is one of the most common words in Italian. In fact, it’s even on the list of the most used Italian words.
But dare is an irregular verb. That just means that, frustratingly, it doesn’t follow the normal rules.
That’s why lots of students can get it wrong. In this post, you’ll find out how to “conjugate” dare for the most important tenses.
You’ll also see some Italian expressions with dare that Italians use all the time and that you can start using too.
*“Conjugate” is just fancy grammar speak for changing the verb depending on who’s doing the action and when it’s happening.
Conjugation of Dare in the Present Tense
You use the present tense in Italian to talk about things you’re doing right now, or things you do regularly. You can also use it in Italian to talk about the future.
Here’s how you use dare in the present tense.
| Io* | Do | I give | Doh |
| Tu | Dai | You give | Dye |
| Lui / Lei | Dà | He / she gives | Dah |
| Noi | Diamo | We give | dee-AH-moh |
| Voi | Date | You (plural) give | DAH-teh |
| Loro | Danno | They give | DAHN-noh |
*A little reminder: we normally leave out pronouns like “I” and “you” in Italian because the verb ending already makes it clear who we’re talking about.
For example:
Dai il passaporto al check-in -You give your passport at check-in
Il museo dà informazioni sulla città -The museum gives information about the city .
Diamo l’indirizzo al tassista. -We give the address to the taxi driver.
Conjugation of Dare in the Passato Prossimo
The passato prossimo is a past tense in Italian. You use it when you’re talking about what you’ve done recently, or any one-off action in the past.
When you use dare in the passato prossimo, you use the verb avere (“to have”) and then add dato .
| Io | Ho dato | I gave ; I have given | Oh DAH-toh |
| Tu | Hai dato | You gave ; you have given | Eye DAH-toh |
| Lui / Lei | Ha dato | He / she gave ; he / she has given | Ah DAH-toh |
| Noi | Abbiamo dato | We gave ; we have given | Ahb-BYAH-moh DAH-toh |
| Voi | Avete dato | You (plural) gave ; You (plural) have given | Ah-VEH-teh DAH-toh |
| Loro | Hanno dato | They gave ; they have given | AHN-noh DAH-toh |
For example:
Quale nome avete dato per la prenotazione? - What name did you (plural) give for the booking?
Abbiamo dato al ristorante 5 stelle su Trip Advisor. - We’ve given the restaurant 5 stars on Trip Advisor
Hai dato una mancia? - Have you given a tip?
Conjugation of Dare in the Future Tense
You can use the present tense to talk about things happening in the future in Italian, or you can use the future tense. It’s like saying “will” in English.
Here’s how it works to say dare in the future tense in Italian.
| Io | Darò | I will give | Dah-ROH |
| Tu | Darai | You will give | Dah-RYE |
| Lui / Lei | Darà | He / she will give | Dah-RAH |
| Noi | Daremo | We will give | Dah-REH-moh |
| Voi | Darete | You (plural) will give | Dah-REH-teh |
| Loro | Daranno | They will give | Dah-RAHN-noh |
For example:
La guida darà consigli su dove mangiare. - The guide will give recommendations on where to eat.
Daremo più informazioni per e-mail. - We’ll give more information by e-mail.
Darete i biglietti all’ autista. - You (plural) will give the tickets to the driver.
Common Italian Expressions with Dare
Dare isn’t just a common word itself, it’s also used in lots of really common Italian expressions.
Italians use these all the time and you can start using them too to sound more natural.
| Dare una mano | To give a hand | DAH-reh OO-nah MAH-noh |
| Dare un’occhiata | To have / take a look | DAH-reh oon-ohk-KYAH-tah |
| Dare del tu/Lei | To use the informal / formal “you” | DAH-reh dehl too / dehl LAY |
| Dare consigli | To give advice / recommendations | DAH-reh con-SEEL-yee |
| Dare il benvenuto | To welcome | DAH-reh eel ben-veh-NOO-toh |
| Dare un passaggio | To give a lift | DAH-reh oon pah-SAHJ-joh |
| Dare fastidio | To annoy | DAH-reh fah-STEE-dyoh |
| Dare per scontato | To take for granted | DAH-reh per scon-TAH-toh |
| Dare buca (a qualcuno) | To stand up (someone) | DAH-reh BOO-kah (ah kwal-KOO-noh) |
For example:
Mi* dai una mano? -Can you give me a hand?
Ti* darò un passaggio all'aeroporto. -I’ll give you a lift to the airport.
Daremo un’occhiata al menù. -We’ll take a look at the menu
*You often use dare with these little words like “you” and “me” to explain who you’re giving something to. If you want to understand more about how this works in Italian, you can read our blogpost on indirect object pronouns .
Dare: How to Use This Important Italian Verb: Review
Now you've seen how to use dare in the past, present and future.
Let’s see dare in its most useful forms again:
| Present | Passato Prossimo | Future | |
| Io (I) | Do | Ho dato | Darò |
| Tu (you) | Dai | Hai dato | Darai |
| Lui / Lei (he / she) | Dà | Ha dato | Darà |
| Noi (we) | Diamo | Abbiamo dato | Daremo |
| Voi (you plural) | Date | Avete dato | Darete |
| Loro (they) | Danno | Hanno dato | Daranno |
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”.
M: In today’s episode, you’ll learn how to use the verb, or doing word, dare .
Just like “give” is a really common word in English, dare is a word you’ll hear and use a lot in Italy.
K: For example, the receptionist at your hotel might ask you to give them your documents, the host of your apartment might say they’ll give you the keys or someone might offer to give you a hand with your luggage.
M: Lots of students make mistakes with dare because it’s an irregular verb. This means that it doesn’t follow the same patterns as other verbs.
K: Because it’s a bit tricky, hearing dare in context a few times can help it click.
In the conversation between me and Matteo, you’ll hear lots of different forms of the verb dare. See how many you notice.
K: Matteo, mi dai una mano? Un nostro studente è a Napoli, quale ristorante consigli?
M: Dove? Chiedi se ti dà l'indirizzo
–
K: Vomero.
M: C’è Donna Teresa, però non danno il menù
K: Va bene.
M: Ok, se mi dai un minuto ti do l’indirizzo.
K: Grazie!
M: Di niente, mi piace dare consigli sul cibo… specialmente a Napoli!
K: I started by saying: M: Matteo, mi dai una mano? - Matteo, can you give me a hand? Literally:
Matteo
Mi - to me
Dai - you give (spelt, D-A-I)
Una - a
Mano - hand
K: You’ve just heard the first form of dare
M: Dai. You give. Dai.
K: In Italian, the ending of the verb already shows who’s doing the action. That means you don’t usually need to say the word for “you,” like tu , in front. So instead of saying tu dai , which can sound unnatural, you can just say dai, spelt D-A-I, dai.
M: Mi dai una mano ? (can you give me a hand?) is a really common Italian expression. It’s used just like in English to ask for or offer help.
K: In Italian, we speak a bit like yoda and we put words like “mi” which in this case means “to me” first. Literally “to me” (mi) you give (dai) a hand (una mano)”.
M: Mi dai una mano? (x2).
K: Then I told Matteo:
M: Un nostro studente è a Napoli. - A student of ours is in Naples. Literally:
Un - One
Nostro - our
Studente - student
È - is
A - at
Napoli - Naples
K: Then I asked: M: Quale ristorante consigli? - which restaurant do you recommend?
Quale - which
Ristorante - restaurant
Consigli - you recommend
K: Then Matteo asked:
M: Dove? Chiedi se ti dà l'indirizzo - Where? Ask if he’ll give you the address. Literally:
Dove ? - where
Chiedi - you ask
Se - if
Ti - to you
Dà - he gives
L’indirizzo - the address
M: Now you’ve heard the next form of dare, dà. He or she gives. Dà.
K: And like before, we don’t say “he gives you” in Italian, but literally “to you” (ti) he gives (dà)”.
M: Ti dà (x2).
K: So I told Matteo where our student is: M: Vomero
Vomero is a district up on a hill in Naples, so you get some amazing views of the city.
K: It’s also a great spot for wandering around, there are loads of shops and restaurants, including the one that Matteo mentioned:
M: C’è Donna Teresa, - There’s Donna Teresa
C’è - there is
Donna Teresa
M: però non danno il menù – but they don’t give a menu. Literally:
Però - but
Non - not
Danno - they give
Il - the
Menù - menu
M: The next form of dare that you just heard is danno. They give. Danno.
K: Be careful with the pronunciation of this one. There are two n’s. In Italian a double letter means that the sound is held a little longer. One way to try and do this is to say the first half of the word first, then pause, and then say the next part. Dan.no (x2) . That way you can be sure you’re saying both n’s. So they give is:
M: Danno (x2)
By the way, if you’re looking for a good place to eat in Naples, Donna Teresa is one of our favorite restaurants and they really don’t give you a menu.
K: They give you a choice between a few things they’ve made that day. It’s very homely and very, very delicious local food.
Then I replied to Matteo:
M: Va bene - that’s fine. Literally:
Va - it goes
Bene - well
K: Va bene is another useful Italian expression to say you’re ok with something. Va bene.
Then Matteo said:
M: Ok, se mi dai un minuto ti do l’indirizzo - Ok, if you give me a minute, I’ll give you the address. Literally: Ok
Se - if
Mi - to me
Dai - you give
Un - a
Minuto - minute
Ti - to you
Do - I give
L’indirizzo - the address
M: Here again, we have “you give”, which is dai (x2). Now you’ve also heard how to say “I give”: do (x2).
K: Then I thanked Matteo:
M: Grazie! Thank you.
K: And then he said:
M: Di niente, mi piace dare consigli sul cibo - No worries, I like to give recommendations on food. Literally:
Di niente - of nothing
Mi piace - I like
Dare - to give
Consigli - advice
Sul - on the
Cibo - food.
K: Di niente is a really useful phrase in Italian that you can use to say “you’re welcome” or “no worries”. It’s similar to the English “it’s nothing”. It’s used a lot in Italian and sounds very natural.
Then Matteo added:
M: Specialmente a Napoli - Especially in Naples. Literally:
Specialmente - especially
A - at
Napoli - Naples
K: Now that you’ve heard some of the main ways to use give in Italian, let’s see what you can remember.
How do you say “you give”?
[...]
M: Dai (x2).
K: What about the phrase “you give me a hand”? Literally “to me you give a hand”?
[...]
M: Mi dai una mano (x2).
K: How do you say “he” or “she gives”?
[...]
M: Dà (x2)
K: And so what about the phrase “he gives you the address”. Literally “to you he gives the address”.
[...]
M: Ti dà l’indirizzo (x2).
K: How do you say “they give”?
M: Danno (x2) .
K: And so how would you say “they don’t give a menu”? Start with “non”:
M: Non danno il menù (x2).
K: And finally, how would you say “I give”?
[...]
M: Do (x2).
K: And how would you say “I give you the address”? Literally “to you I give the address?”
M: Ti do l’indirizzo (x2)
K: Let’s hear the whole conversation again.
K: Matteo, mi dai una mano? Un nostro studente è a Napoli, quale ristorante consigli?
M: Dove? Chiedi se ti dà l'indirizzo
K: Vomero.
M: C’è Donna Teresa, però non danno il menù
K: Va bene.
M: Ok, se mi dai un minuto ti do l’indirizzo.
K: Grazie!
M: Di niente, mi piace dare consigli sul cibo… specialmente a Napoli!
K: You’ve heard some of the useful ways to say “give” in Italian, like “I give”, “you give” and “they give”. But we haven’t covered all of them, like how to say “we give” in Italian.
M: And there are a few more Italian expressions using dare that Italians use all the time .
K: To see all the forms of dare written down, plus more Italian expressions and pronunciation tips, click the link in the description to head over to our website, or go to italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast and search for episode 198.
M: See you next time.
K: Or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
Time to check your understanding and remember everything you just learned! Below you’ll find a mini-quiz and some vocabulary cards to help it all go in.
Quiz: Dare: How to Use This Important Italian Verb
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: Dare: How to Use This Important Italian Verb
Vocabulary
Dai il passaporto al check-in = You give your passport at check-in
Il museo dà informazioni sulla città = The museum gives information about the city
Hai dato una mancia? = Have you given a tip?
La guida darà consigli su dove mangiare = The guide will give recommendations on where to eat
Daremo più informazioni per e-mail = We’ll give more information by e-mail
Ti darò un passaggio all'aeroporto = I’ll give you a lift to the airport
Daremo un’occhiata al menù = We’ll take a look at the menu
Mi dai una mano? = Can you give me a hand?
Non danno il menù = They don’t give the menu
Se mi dai un minuto… = If you give me a minute…
Ti do l’indirizzo = I give you the address
Mi piace dare consigli sul cibo = I like to give food recommendations
Flashcards: Dare: How to Use This Important Italian Verb
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
