Dare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian
dare — to give — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the verb of giving, and it appears in many set phrases for giving help, giving a hand and giving news. Its present and future are irregular, with a short stem that changes in the singular. On this page you will find dare in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the dare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the dare passato prossimo tense page.
Example sentences with dare
In the present tense
- “Io do un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I give a book to Maria”
- “Tu dai un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “You give a book to Maria”
- “Lui dà un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “He gives a book to Maria”
- “Noi diamo un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “We give a book to Maria”
- “Voi date un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “You give a book to Maria”
- “Loro danno un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “They give a book to Maria”
In the passato prossimo
- “Io ho dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have given a book to Maria”
- “Tu hai dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have given a book to Maria”
- “Lui ha dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has given a book to Maria”
- “Noi abbiamo dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “We have given a book to Maria”
- “Voi avete dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have given a book to Maria”
- “Loro hanno dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “They have given a book to Maria”
In other tenses
The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.
- “Io davo un libro a Maria una volta.” — “I used to give a book to Maria”
- “Tu darai un libro a Maria domani.” — “You will give a book to Maria”
- “Lui darebbe un libro a Maria un giorno.” — “He would give a book to Maria”
- “È importante che noi diamo un libro a Maria.” — “It is important that we give a book to Maria”
- “Dai un libro a Maria!” — “Give a book to Maria!”
How dare is used
The first thing to know about dare is its core meaning: to give. It is the verb of giving, and it appears in many set phrases for giving help, giving a hand and giving news. Its present and future are irregular, with a short stem that changes in the singular. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company dare keeps. The present io form is do, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho dato, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what dare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need do, never dare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho dato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle dato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.
Dare in context
Io do un libro a Maria ogni giorno. Tu dai un libro a Maria ogni giorno. Lui dà un libro a Maria ogni giorno. Noi diamo un libro a Maria ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of dare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — do, dai, dà, diamo — while the meaning stays the same: to give. Io ho dato un libro a Maria questa settimana. Tu hai dato un libro a Maria questa settimana. Lui ha dato un libro a Maria questa settimana. Noi abbiamo dato un libro a Maria questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of dare appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to give — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io dare un libro a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io do un libro a Maria ogni giorno.”
The infinitive dare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form do.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Io dai un libro a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io do un libro a Maria ogni giorno.”
dai is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is do — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io do un libro a Maria ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.”
Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho dato here, not the present do.
4. Mixing up the auxiliary
✗ Wrong: “Io sono dato un libro a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.”
dare takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho dato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on dare across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.
What is the tu form of dare in the Present indicative?
- A) do
- B) dai
- C) dà
- D) diamo
What is the io form of dare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) hai dato
- B) ha dato
- C) ho dato
- D) abbiamo dato
What is the lui/lei form of dare in the Imperfect?
- A) davo
- B) davi
- C) davamo
- D) dava
What is the noi form of dare in the Future?
- A) daremo
- B) darò
- C) darai
- D) darà
What is the tu form of dare in the Conditional?
- A) darei
- B) daresti
- C) darebbe
- D) daremmo
What is the io form of dare in the Passato remoto?
- A) desti
- B) diede
- C) diedi
- D) demmo
What is the noi form of dare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) dia
- B) diate
- C) diano
- D) diamo
What is the gerund of dare?
- A) dando
- B) dato
- C) dare
- D) do
What is the past participle of dare?
- A) dando
- B) dato
- C) dare
- D) do
What does dare mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to give
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) dai — the correct form is dai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ho dato — the correct form is ho dato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) dava — the correct form is dava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) daremo — the correct form is daremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) daresti — the correct form is daresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) diedi — the correct form is diedi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) diamo — the correct form is diamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) dando — the correct form is dando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) dato — the correct form is dato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to give — the correct form is to give. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does dare mean in English?
dare means “to give”. You use it whenever you talk about to give in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.
Is dare regular or irregular?
dare is irregular. dare is irregular in present, passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative — learn those forms as a set.
What are the gerund and past participle of dare?
The gerund is dando and the past participle is dato. The perfect tenses use avere + dato.
Where can I see the full conjugation of dare?
On the dare conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The dare passato prossimo tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for dare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- dare conjugation — full tables
- dare in the passato prossimo tense
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- Fare conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Andare conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Quiz — practise dare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise dare with the interactive tool.
- Verb Conjugator — practise dare with the interactive tool.