di/diste/dio/dimos/dieron

Preterite of Dar

Level 2

Learn the simple past forms of 'dar' (to give): di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron. Notice they have no accent marks!

How It Works

The verb dar (to give) is unique in the preterite tense.

1. Endings without Accents:
Even though dar ends in -ar, it uses the endings of regular -er/-ir verbs in the preterite tense. Furthermore, because these forms are single-syllable or standard, none of them carry accent marks.

Forms of dar in the preterite:

  • yo di (I gave)
  • tú diste (you gave)
  • él/ella/usted dio (he/she/you gave)
  • nosotros/as dimos (we gave)
  • vosotros/as disteis (you all gave)
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes dieron (they/you all gave)

2. Common Idiomatic Uses:
In Spanish, dar is used in many common expressions beyond literal giving, such as dar un paseo (to take a walk) or dar miedo (to cause fear).

3. Similar Pattern with Ver:
This pattern closely mirrors ver in the preterite (vi, viste, vio, etc.), which also takes -er/-ir endings without accent marks.

Examples (5)

  1. Yo le di un regalo de cumpleaños a mi amigo.

    I gave a birthday present to my friend.

    Word by Word: I to-him gave a present of birthday to my friend.

    Uses 'di' (yo form) along with the indirect object pronoun 'le'.

  2. ¿Qué le diste a María para su cumpleaños?

    What did you give María for her birthday?

    Word by Word: What to-her (you) gave to María for her birthday?

    Uses 'diste' for informal singular 'you' (tú).

  3. Ayer el profesor nos dio la respuesta.

    Yesterday the teacher gave us the answer.

    Word by Word: Yesterday the teacher to-us gave the answer.

    Uses 'dio' for third-person singular (el profesor).

  4. Nosotros dimos una caminata por el parque.

    We took a walk through the park.

    Word by Word: We gave a walk through the park.

    Demonstrates 'dimos' in the idiomatic expression 'dar una caminata'.

  5. Mis padres me dieron permiso para ir a la fiesta.

    My parents gave me permission to go to the party.

    Word by Word: My parents to-me gave permission for to go to the party.

    Uses 'dieron' for third-person plural (mis padres).

Common Mistakes

  • Adding written accents to monosyllabic forms like 'di' or 'dio'.

    Yo le dí un libro y él me dió las gracias.
    Yo le di un libro y él me dio las gracias.

    Preterite forms of 'dar' (di, dio) do not carry written accent marks under modern Spanish spelling rules.

  • Using -ar preterite endings instead of -er/-ir endings.

    Ayer yo le de un regalo a mi hermano.
    Ayer yo le di un regalo a mi hermano.

    Although 'dar' is an -ar verb in the infinitive, its preterite forms use -er/-ir endings (di, diste, dio, dimos, dieron).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

di/diste/dio/dimos/dieronLevel 2Preterite of Dar

Learn This First

To learn the irregular preterite of 'dar', you first need to understand how subject pronouns work in Spanish to match the person to the verb form. Additionally, while 'dar' is an -ar verb, its preterite forms (di, diste, etc.) actually follow the pattern of regular -er/-ir preterite endings without the accent marks, so familiarity with those endings is essential.

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Words in This Pattern

dar