Donner in the Present Tense in French

Introduction

Donner means “to give”, and this page covers exactly one thing: donner in the present tense. The present is the tense French speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for donner, 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 donner in the present. For example: “Je donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.” — “I give a book to Marie every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of donner exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Donner in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
je donne
tu donnes
il/elle donne
nous donnons
vous donnez
ils/elles donnent

Gerund: donnant · Past participle: donné

The gerund is donnant, which you use after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is donné, which you use with avoir in the perfect tenses: the je form of the present perfect is ai donné, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how donner is used.

How the present of donner is formed

The present of donner follows the regular -er pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je donne, tu donnes, il/elle donne, nous donnons, vous donnez, ils/elles donnent. The nous and vous forms are the ones learners most often get wrong, because they expect a change that is not there — learn the six forms as two groups, the singular forms and the plural forms, and the pattern becomes automatic. The stem never changes in the present for this verb, so the only work is the endings.

The present stem also feeds other tenses: the imperfect is built from the present nous form, and the present subjunctive is built from the present ils form, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. The gerund donnant and the participle donné belong to the same family of forms — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise donner in every tense.

When to use the present of donner

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

1. Giving a book to Marie — the everyday use

Donner is the verb for giving a book to Marie. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Je donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.” — “I give a book to Marie every day.”

2. Giving some money to my brother — a second everyday use

Donner also covers giving some money to my brother. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Tu donnes de l'argent à mon frère tous les jours.” — “You give some money to my brother every day.”

3. Giving a present to my mother — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use donner for giving a present to my mother. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Il donne un cadeau à ma mère tous les jours.” — “He gives a present to my mother every day.”

4. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and donner is no exception. Use time expressions such as tous les jours, toujours or chaque semaine to make the routine explicit. Example: “Nous donnons un livre à Marie tous les jours.” — “We give a book to Marie every day.”

5. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. French often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with donner in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Vous donnez de l'argent à mon frère tous les jours.” — “You give some money to my brother every day.”

Present Tense vs Imperfect: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the imperfect, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual past action, while the present describes habits and facts that are true now. 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 present sentences use words such as tous les jours or hier, while the imperfect sentences use autrefois or quand. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present: “Je donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.” — “I give a book to Marie every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Je donnais un livre à Marie autrefois.” — “I used to give a book to Marie in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Tu donnes de l'argent à mon frère tous les jours.” — “You give some money to my brother every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Tu donnais de l'argent à mon frère autrefois.” — “You used to give some money to my brother in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Nous donnons un cadeau à ma mère tous les jours.” — “We give a present to my mother every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous donnions un cadeau à ma mère autrefois.” — “We used to give a present to my mother in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: donner in the present

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, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Je donne de l'argent à mon frère tous les jours.” — “I give some money to my brother every day.”

  2. “Tu donnes un cadeau à ma mère tous les jours.” — “You give a present to my mother every day.”

  3. “Il donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.” — “He gives a book to Marie every day.”

  4. “Nous donnons de l'argent à mon frère tous les jours.” — “We give some money to my brother every day.”

  5. “Vous donnez un cadeau à ma mère tous les jours.” — “You give a present to my mother every day.”

  6. “Ils donnent un livre à Marie tous les jours.” — “They give a book to Marie every day.”

  7. “Je donne de l'argent à mon frère tous les jours.” — “I give some money to my brother every day.”

  8. “Tu donnes un cadeau à ma mère tous les jours.” — “You give a present to my mother every day.”

Common mistakes with donner in the present

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: “Je donnent un livre à Marie.” Right: “Je donne un livre à Marie.” Why: The je form is donne, not donnent. Donnent belongs with ils/elles. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Nous donnent un livre à Marie.” Right: “Nous donnons un livre à Marie.” Why: Nous keeps its own form: donnons, not donnent. Learn nous and vous as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Un livre à marie” with the infinitive: “Je donner un livre à Marie.” Right: “Je donne un livre à Marie.” Why: The infinitive donner never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form donne.

  • Wrong: “Il est important que je donne un livre à Marie.” Right: “Il est important que je donne un livre à Marie.” Why: After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use donne here, not the indicative donne.

Quiz: donner in the present

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. Complete the sentence: “Je ______ de l'argent à mon frère.”

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

2. Complete the sentence: “Tu ______ un cadeau à ma mère.”

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

3. Complete the sentence: “Il ______ un livre à Marie.”

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

4. Complete the sentence: “Nous ______ de l'argent à mon frère.”

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

5. Complete the sentence: “Vous ______ un cadeau à ma mère.”

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

6. Complete the sentence: “Ils ______ un livre à Marie.”

  • (A) donnes
  • (B) donnons
  • (C) donnent
  • (D) donne

7. What does donner mean in English?

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

8. What is the past participle of donner?

  • (A) donné
  • (B) trouvé
  • (C) parlé
  • (D) demandé

Answer key

  1. A) donne — The je form is donne.
  2. B) donnes — The tu form is donnes.
  3. A) donne — The il/elle form is donne.
  4. B) donnons — The nous form is donnons.
  5. C) donnez — The vous form is donnez.
  6. C) donnent — The ils/elles form is donnent.
  7. C) to give — donner means “to give”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. A) donné — The past participle of donner is donné; the present is formed with avoir + donné.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of donner formed?

The present of donner is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je donne, tu donnes, il donne, nous donnons, vous donnez, ils donnent.

When do I use the present of donner?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Je donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.” — “I give a book to Marie every day.” For a finished past action, use the passé composé instead.

What is the difference between the present and the imperfect of donner?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the imperfect describes what used to happen or was happening in the past. Compare “Je donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.” with “Je donnais un livre à Marie autrefois.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it used to be.

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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