Donner: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Donner means “to give”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for donner, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with donner, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.” — “I give a book to Marie every day.”
  2. “Tu donnes de l'argent à mon frère tous les jours.” — “You give some money to my brother every day.”
  3. “J'ai donné un cadeau à ma mère cette semaine.” — “I have given a present to my mother this week.”
  4. “Il donnait un livre à Marie autrefois.” — “He used to give a book to Marie in the past.”
  5. “Nous donnerons de l'argent à mon frère demain.” — “We will give some money to my brother tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as donné un cadeau à ma mère cette semaine.” — “You have given a present to my mother this week.”
  7. “Je donnerais un livre à Marie un jour.” — “I would give a book to Marie one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il donne de l'argent à mon frère.” — “It is important that he give some money to my brother.”
  9. “Nous avions donné un cadeau à ma mère avant la fête.” — “We had given a present to my mother before the party.”
  10. “Il donnera un livre à Marie demain.” — “He will give a book to Marie tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils donnent de l'argent à mon frère tous les jours.” — “They give some money to my brother every day.”
  12. “Donne un cadeau à ma mère !” — “Give a present to my mother!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about a book to Marie. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how donner changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of donner below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.” — “I give a book to Marie every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je donnerai de l'argent à mon frère demain.” — “I will give some money to my brother tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai donné un cadeau à ma mère cette semaine.” — “I have given a present to my mother this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je donnerais un livre à Marie un jour.” — “I would give a book to Marie one day.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Donner in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of donner that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, donner describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is donne: “Je donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.” — “I give a book to Marie every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, donner describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is donnait: “Il donnait de l'argent à mon frère autrefois.” — “He used to give some money to my brother in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, donner reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle donné. The je form is ai donné: “J'ai donné un cadeau à ma mère cette semaine.” — “I have given a present to my mother this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, donner talks about what will happen. The nous form is donnerons: “Nous donnerons un livre à Marie demain.” — “We will give a book to Marie tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, donner talks about what would happen. The tu form is donnerais: “Tu donnerais de l'argent à mon frère un jour.” — “You would give some money to my brother one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, donner appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is donne, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je donne un cadeau à ma mère.” — “It is important that I give a present to my mother.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je donner un livre à Marie.”

✓ Right: “Je donne un livre à Marie.”

The infinitive donner never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form donne.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu donne un livre à Marie.”

✓ Right: “Tu donnes un livre à Marie.”

donne is the je form. With tu you need donnes. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je donne un livre à Marie hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai donné un livre à Marie hier.”

The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai donné, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu donnes de l'argent à mon frère.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu donnes de l'argent à mon frère.”

After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: donnes, not the indicative donnes.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je donné un livre à Marie.”

✓ Right: “Je ai donné un livre à Marie.”

The passé composé of donner needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle donné: the full je form is ai donné.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on donner. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of donner in the Present indicative?

    • A) donne
    • B) donnes
    • C) donnons
    • D) donnez

  2. What is the tu form of donner in the Present indicative?

    • A) donnez
    • B) donnes
    • C) donne
    • D) donnons

  3. What is the il/elle form of donner in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) ai donné
    • B) as donné
    • C) avons donné
    • D) a donné

  4. What is the nous form of donner in the Imperfect?

    • A) donnions
    • B) donnais
    • C) donnait
    • D) donniez

  5. What is the tu form of donner in the Future?

    • A) donnera
    • B) donnerons
    • C) donneras
    • D) donnerai

  6. What is the je form of donner in the Conditional?

    • A) donneriez
    • B) donnerais
    • C) donnerait
    • D) donnerions

  7. What is the il/elle form of donner in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) donne
    • B) donnes
    • C) donnions
    • D) donniez

  8. What is the je form of donner in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?

    • A) avais donné
    • B) avait donné
    • C) avions donné
    • D) aviez donné

  9. What is the gerund of donner?

    • A) en trouvant
    • B) en parlant
    • C) en demandant
    • D) en donnant

  10. What does donner mean in English?

  • A) to speak
  • B) to ask
  • C) to give
  • D) to find

Answer key

  1. A) donne — the je form of donner in the Present indicative is donne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. B) donnes — the tu form of donner in the Present indicative is donnes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) a donné — the il/elle form of donner in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a donné. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) donnions — the nous form of donner in the Imperfect is donnions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. C) donneras — the tu form of donner in the Future is donneras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. B) donnerais — the je form of donner in the Conditional is donnerais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. A) donne — the il/elle form of donner in the Present subjunctive is donne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) avais donné — the je form of donner in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais donné. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. D) en donnant — the gerund of donner is en donnant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. C) to give — donner means “to give” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does donner mean in English?

donner means “to give”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is donner regular or irregular?

donner is regular in every tense. The gerund is donnant and the past participle is donné.

How do I practise donner every day?

Say one sentence with donner in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.”, “J'ai donné un livre à Marie cette semaine.” and “Je donnerai un livre à Marie demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for donner, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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