dar en + Infinitive
Taking to Doing: Dar En
Dar en + infinitive means to start doing something, often insistently, or to take to doing it as a habit: Deu en chover e non parou (it set in to rain and did not stop).
How It Works
Two meanings
The RAG dictionary gives two meanings:
- To start an action: Deu en chover e non parou. Like comezar a, but with a sense of insistence.
- To take up a habit: Agora deu en visitarme todos os días. The action repeats from then on.
Form
Only dar changes: dou en, deu en, deron en, dará en. The subject is the person or thing that starts the action: O can deu en ladrar. With weather verbs there is no subject: Deu en nevar.
Tone
Dar en often shows that the speaker finds the new behaviour odd or tiresome: Agora deu en chamarme todas as noites. For a neutral start, comezar a or poñerse a is enough. For a sudden, strong start, compare botar a.
Pronouns
An unstressed pronoun normally joins the infinitive: deu en chamarme. See pronouns in verb phrases.
Examples (6)
- Deu en chover e non parou en toda a tarde.
It set in to rain and did not stop all afternoon.
- Agora deu en chamarme todas as noites.
Now he has taken to calling me every night.
A new habit that the speaker finds a little annoying.
- O can deu en ladrar ás tres da mañá.
The dog started barking at three in the morning.
- Xa de maior deu en escribir poesía.
Later in life, she took to writing poetry.
- Deron en chegar tarde todos os días.
They took to arriving late every day.
- Onte deu en nevar de súpeto.
Yesterday it suddenly began to snow.
Common Mistakes
Copying the Spanish le dio por pattern.
Deulle por chamarme todas as noites.Deu en chamarme todas as noites.In Galician the person who starts the habit is the subject of dar, and the preposition is en.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Dar en with an infinitive introduces a new or recurrent behavior.
Related Patterns
- botar a + InfinitiveSuddenly Starting: Botar a
Another start verb, for sudden, strong beginnings.
Level 4 - deixar de + InfinitiveStopping: Deixar De
The opposite: stopping an action or habit.
Level 3 - chegar a + InfinitiveEven Managing to: Chegar a
Another verb phrase with a special nuance.
Level 4 - Pronouns in Verb Phrases
Explains where the pronoun goes in deu en chamarme.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice dar en + Infinitive in Bubblegum
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