Introduction

Dare means “to give”, and this page covers exactly one thing: dare in the passato prossimo. The passato prossimo is the tense Italian speakers reach for when they talk about one finished action in the past, especially in conversation. On this page you will find the full passato prossimo table for dare, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the imperfect, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about dare in the passato prossimo. 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. For example: “Lui ha dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has given a book to Maria.” Everything on this page uses the forms of dare exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Dare in the Passato prossimo — full table

Person Form
io ho dato
tu hai dato
lui/lei ha dato
noi abbiamo dato
voi avete dato
loro hanno dato
Gerund: dando · Past participle: dato
The gerund is dando, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Dando un libro a Maria, imparo molto.” — “While giving a book to Maria, I learn a lot.” The past participle is dato, which you use with avere in the perfect tenses: ho dato is the passato prossimo, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the passato prossimo is only one part of how dare is used.
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.

How the passato prossimo of dare is formed

The passato prossimo of dare is formed with the auxiliary avere in the present plus the past participle dato: io ho dato, tu hai dato, lui ha dato, noi abbiamo dato, voi avete dato, loro hanno dato. The participle is given here in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Two things about the passato prossimo of dare are worth noticing. First, the auxiliary is the whole decision: once you know that dare takes avere, the rest is the present of avere plus one participle, and the same participle serves all four perfect tenses. Second, the passato prossimo is the tense of finished events with a clear result, so it pairs naturally with time words such as ieri, questa settimana and l'anno scorso — those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

Because the participle dato never changes in the tables, the passato prossimo of dare is cheap to learn once the auxiliary is fixed. Learn the six auxiliary forms, add the participle, and the whole tense is yours.

When to use the passato prossimo of dare

The passato prossimo is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use dare in the passato prossimo most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. One finished action

The passato prossimo describes a single action that is finished, especially in spoken Italian. When the action has a clear end, the passato prossimo is the natural choice. Example: “Io ho dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have given a book to Maria.”

2. Recent events

Use the passato prossimo for things that happened recently — today, this week, this morning — where the result is still visible in the present. Example: “Lui ha dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has given a book to Maria.”

3. A sequence of events

When you tell what happened first, second and third, each step takes the passato prossimo. The tense moves the story forward one finished action at a time. Example: “Noi abbiamo dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “We have given a book to Maria.”

4. An experience in your life

Use the passato prossimo for things you have done in your life, with or without a time expression. It is the tense of experience as much as of yesterday. Example: “Tu hai dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have given a book to Maria.”

5. News and results

When you report news or a result, the passato prossimo carries it: something happened, and now the situation is different. The result matters more than the process. Example: “Loro hanno dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “They have given a book to Maria.”

Passato Prossimo vs Imperfect: how to choose

The closest tense to the passato prossimo is the imperfect, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the passato prossimo describes one finished action, while the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual action in the past, or the background of a scene. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the passato prossimo sentences use words such as ieri or questa settimana, while the imperfect sentences use una volta or ogni giorno.

  • Passato Prossimo: “Lui ha dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has given a book to Maria”
  • Imperfect: “Lui dava un libro a Maria una volta.” — “He used to give a book to Maria”
  • The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.
  • Passato Prossimo: “Io ho dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have given a book to Maria”
  • Imperfect: “Io davo un libro a Maria una volta.” — “I used to give a book to Maria”
  • The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.
  • Passato Prossimo: “Tu hai dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have given a book to Maria”
  • Imperfect: “Tu davi un libro a Maria una volta.” — “You used to give a book to Maria”
  • The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.

Example sentences: dare in the passato prossimo

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Io ho dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have given a book to Maria”
  2. “Tu hai dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have given a book to Maria”
  3. “Lui ha dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has given a book to Maria”
  4. “Noi abbiamo dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “We have given a book to Maria”
  5. “Voi avete dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have given a book to Maria”
  6. “Loro hanno dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “They have given a book to Maria”
  7. “Io ho dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have given a book to Maria”
  8. “Lui ha dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has given a book to Maria”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Io sono dato un libro a Maria.” Right: “Io ho dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” Why: dare takes avere in the passato prossimo, not the other auxiliary. The io form is ho dato — check the auxiliary before you build the tense.
  • Wrong: “Io do un libro a Maria ieri.” Right: “Io ho dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” Why: Ieri points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho dato for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Io ho dando un libro a Maria.” Right: “Io ho dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” Why: The passato prossimo needs the past participle dato, not the gerund dando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary.
  • Wrong: “Io dare un libro a Maria.” Right: “Io ho dato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” Why: The infinitive dare never takes a subject and never forms a past tense on its own. After io you need the conjugated passato prossimo form ho dato.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

  1. What is the io form of dare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai dato
    • B) ho dato
    • C) ha dato
    • D) abbiamo dato

  2. What is the tu form of dare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ho dato
    • B) ha dato
    • C) hai dato
    • D) abbiamo dato

  3. What is the lui/lei form of dare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ho dato
    • B) hai dato
    • C) abbiamo dato
    • D) ha dato

  4. What is the noi form of dare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) abbiamo dato
    • B) ho dato
    • C) hai dato
    • D) ha dato

  5. What is the voi form of dare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ho dato
    • B) avete dato
    • C) hai dato
    • D) ha dato

  6. What is the loro form of dare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ho dato
    • B) hai dato
    • C) hanno dato
    • D) ha dato

  7. What is the io form of dare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai dato
    • B) ha dato
    • C) abbiamo dato
    • D) ho dato

  8. What is the tu form of dare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai dato
    • B) ho dato
    • C) ha dato
    • D) abbiamo dato

Answer key

  1. B) ho dato — the correct form is ho dato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) hai dato — the correct form is hai dato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ha dato — the correct form is ha dato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) abbiamo dato — the correct form is abbiamo dato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) avete dato — the correct form is avete dato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) hanno dato — the correct form is hanno dato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) ho dato — the correct form is ho dato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) hai dato — the correct form is hai dato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does dare mean in English?

dare means “to give”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -are verb.

How is the passato prossimo of dare formed?

With the auxiliary avere in the present plus the past participle dato: io ho dato, tu hai dato, lui ha dato, noi abbiamo dato, voi avete dato, loro hanno dato.

When do I use the passato prossimo instead of the imperfect?

Use the passato prossimo for one finished action in the past. Use the imperfect for an ongoing or habitual past action, or for background description. The time words are your best clue: ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.

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.

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