Donner Conjugation in French
donner means “to give” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 15 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about giving a book to Marie, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of donner — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.” — “I give a book to Marie every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: donner
- English: to give
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: donnant
- Past participle: donné
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -er verbs; pattern er in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read donner in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about donner
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -er pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle donné. The tables on this page give the participle 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.
- The gerund is donnant and the participle is donné: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for donner. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | donne |
| tu | donnes |
| il/elle | donne |
| nous | donnons |
| vous | donnez |
| ils/elles | donnent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je donne de l'argent à mon frère tous les jours.” — “I give some money to my brother every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | donnai |
| tu | donnas |
| il/elle | donna |
| nous | donnâmes |
| vous | donnâtes |
| ils/elles | donnèrent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu donnas de l'argent à mon frère hier.” — “You gave some money to my brother yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | donnais |
| tu | donnais |
| il/elle | donnait |
| nous | donnions |
| vous | donniez |
| ils/elles | donnaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il donnait de l'argent à mon frère autrefois.” — “He used to give some money to my brother in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | donnerai |
| tu | donneras |
| il/elle | donnera |
| nous | donnerons |
| vous | donnerez |
| ils/elles | donneront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je donnerai de l'argent à mon frère demain.” — “I will give some money to my brother tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | donnerais |
| tu | donnerais |
| il/elle | donnerait |
| nous | donnerions |
| vous | donneriez |
| ils/elles | donneraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu donnerais de l'argent à mon frère un jour.” — “You would give some money to my brother one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai donné |
| tu | as donné |
| il/elle | a donné |
| nous | avons donné |
| vous | avez donné |
| ils/elles | ont donné |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a donné de l'argent à mon frère cette semaine.” — “He has given some money to my brother this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais donné |
| tu | avais donné |
| il/elle | avait donné |
| nous | avions donné |
| vous | aviez donné |
| ils/elles | avaient donné |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais donné de l'argent à mon frère avant la fête.” — “I had given some money to my brother before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai donné |
| tu | auras donné |
| il/elle | aura donné |
| nous | aurons donné |
| vous | aurez donné |
| ils/elles | auront donné |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras donné de l'argent à mon frère pour demain.” — “You will have given some money to my brother by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais donné |
| tu | aurais donné |
| il/elle | aurait donné |
| nous | aurions donné |
| vous | auriez donné |
| ils/elles | auraient donné |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait donné de l'argent à mon frère hier.” — “He would have given some money to my brother yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | donne |
| tu | donnes |
| il/elle | donne |
| nous | donnions |
| vous | donniez |
| ils/elles | donnent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il est important que je donne de l'argent à mon frère.” — “It is important that I give some money to my brother.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | donnasse |
| tu | donnasses |
| il/elle | donnât |
| nous | donnassions |
| vous | donnassiez |
| ils/elles | donnassent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu donnasses de l'argent à mon frère.” — “It is important that you give some money to my brother.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | donne |
| nous | donnons |
| vous | donnez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Donne de l'argent à mon frère !” — “Give some money to my brother!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | donne |
| nous | donnons |
| vous | donnez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne donne pas de l'argent à mon frère.” — “Do not give some money to my brother.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en donnant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En donnant un livre à Marie, je passe un bon moment.” — “While giving a book to Marie, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | donné |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai donné un livre à Marie cette semaine.” — “I have given a book to Marie this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with donner, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.” — “I give a book to Marie every day.”
- “Tu donnas de l'argent à mon frère hier.” — “You gave some money to my brother yesterday.”
- “Il donnait un cadeau à ma mère autrefois.” — “He used to give a present to my mother in the past.”
- “Je donnerai un livre à Marie demain.” — “I will give a book to Marie tomorrow.”
- “Tu donnerais de l'argent à mon frère un jour.” — “You would give some money to my brother one day.”
- “Il a donné un cadeau à ma mère cette semaine.” — “He has given a present to my mother this week.”
- “J'avais donné un livre à Marie avant la fête.” — “I had given a book to Marie before the party.”
- “Tu auras donné de l'argent à mon frère pour demain.” — “You will have given some money to my brother by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il donne un cadeau à ma mère.” — “It is important that he give a present to my mother.”
- “Donne un livre à Marie !” — “Give a book to Marie!”
Common mistakes
1. 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 present form donne.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je donnent un livre à Marie.”
✓ Right: “Je donne un livre à Marie.”
donnent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with donne.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je donnai un livre à Marie tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.”
The passé simple donnai describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present donne.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je donne un livre à Marie.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je donne un livre à Marie.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use donne here, not the indicative donne.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis donné un livre à Marie.”
✓ Right: “Je ai donné un livre à Marie.”
The passé composé of donner is formed with avoir plus the past participle donné: the je form is ai donné. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “donne” written without its accent
✓ Right: “donne”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on donner. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of donner in the Present indicative?
- A) donne
- B) donnes
- C) donnons
- D) donnez
What is the il/elle form of donner in the Passé simple?
- A) donna
- B) donnai
- C) donnas
- D) donnâmes
What is the nous form of donner in the Imperfect?
- A) donnions
- B) donnais
- C) donnait
- D) donniez
What is the tu form of donner in the Future?
- A) donnera
- B) donnerons
- C) donneras
- D) donnerai
What is the je form of donner in the Conditional?
- A) donneriez
- B) donnerais
- C) donnerait
- D) donnerions
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
What is the il/elle form of donner in the Present subjunctive?
- A) donne
- B) donnes
- C) donnions
- D) donniez
What is the je form of donner in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) donnassions
- B) donnasse
- C) donnasses
- D) donnât
What is the gerund of donner?
- A) en trouvant
- B) en parlant
- C) en demandant
- D) en donnant
What does donner mean in English?
- A) to speak
- B) to ask
- C) to give
- D) to find
Answer key
- A) donne — the je form of donner in the Present indicative is donne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) donna — the il/elle form of donner in the Passé simple is donna. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) donnions — the nous form of donner in the Imperfect is donnions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) donneras — the tu form of donner in the Future is donneras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) donnerais — the je form of donner in the Conditional is donnerais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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.
- A) donne — the il/elle form of donner in the Present subjunctive is donne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) donnasse — the je form of donner in the Imperfect subjunctive is donnasse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) en donnant — the gerund of donner is en donnant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- 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: it follows the ordinary -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is donnant and the past participle is donné.
What are the gerund and past participle of donner?
The gerund is donnant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is donné — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai donné.
Which auxiliary does donner take in the passé composé?
donner takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai donné. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle donné.
How do I say “I give” in French?
Say “Je donne un livre à Marie tous les jours.” — “I give a book to Marie every day.” The je form of the present is donne, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of donner — every tense of donner in one place.
- Donner in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Donner examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Trouver conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Parler conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Demander conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise donner with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise donner with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise donner with the interactive tool.