What is the preterite of dar in Spanish?

The preterite of dar is irregular: di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron. Dar is an -ar verb but takes -er / -ir preterite endings, with no written accents on any form. Used for completed past acts of giving, telling, hitting, and many idioms. Example: Le di un regalo (I gave him a gift).

Why doesn't dio have an accent?

Modern Spanish orthography (since the 2010 RAE update) drops the accent on single-syllable forms like dio, fue, vio. Older texts wrote dió, but current rules treat these forms as one syllable and require no accent.

How do you use indirect object pronouns with the preterite of dar?

Dar almost always takes an indirect object pronoun (le, me, te, nos, os, les) before the conjugated verb to mark the recipient. Le di un regalo (I gave him a gift), Me dieron las llaves (They gave me the keys). The pronoun comes immediately before the verb, never after.

What's the difference between di and dé?

Di is the preterite yo form of dar (I gave, a completed past action). Dé (with an accent) is the present subjunctive yo and él/ella form, used after triggers like quiero que or es importante que. The accent on dé distinguishes the verb form from the preposition de (of, from).

How can I learn to use the preterite of dar naturally?

Dar appears in dozens of common idioms (dar las gracias, dar un paseo, darse cuenta), so exposure to real conversation locks the preterite in fast. Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using di / dio / dieron in everyday storytelling, where these idioms appear constantly.

Spanish grammar · Intermediate

Preterite of Dar: All Forms with Examples

Written by Sofia Ramirez, Lead Spanish Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

The preterite of dar is unusual: it's an -ar verb that takes -er / -ir preterite endings, with no accents. The forms are di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron, short and easy once you spot the pattern.

Le di un regalo a mi hermana.

I gave my sister a gift.

What it is

Dar is an -ar verb, but in the preterite it borrows the -er / -ir ending set: di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron. There are no written accents on any form, unlike regular -ar preterites (hablé, habló). This makes the forms short and easy to recognize once the irregularity is internalized.

In Le di un regalo a mi hermana (I gave my sister a gift), di marks one completed act of giving. The preterite frames the gift exchange as a finished event, often paired with an indirect object pronoun (le, me, te, nos, os, les).

How to spot it

Look for d- followed by a short, unaccented ending: di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron. The two-letter di and dio are especially distinctive.

Le di las gracias. — I thanked him.
Me dio un susto. — He startled me.
Nos dieron buenas noticias. — They gave us good news.

Dar shows up constantly in everyday Spanish (giving, telling, hitting, taking a walk). Once you've heard di, dio, dieron a few times in real contexts, the pattern locks in fast.

Preterite of Dar Quick Reference

Preterite of dar, all six forms

Person	Form	Translation
yo	di	I gave
tú	diste	you gave
él/ella/Ud.	dio	he, she, you (formal) gave
nosotros	dimos	we gave
vosotros	disteis	you all gave (Spain)
ellos/Uds.	dieron	they, you all gave

Common Preterite of Dar Examples in Spanish

Dar shows up in dozens of useful expressions beyond the literal sense of giving. The preterite frames each as a completed event.

Literal Giving

Le di un regalo a mi madre.: I gave my mother a gift.
Me diste tu número.: You gave me your number.
Dimos dinero a la organización.: We gave money to the organization.
Les dieron premios a los mejores estudiantes.: They gave prizes to the best students.
Le dio las llaves al portero.: She gave the keys to the doorman.

The classic use of dar is exchanging something with someone. The indirect object pronoun (le, me, te...) appears before the verb and marks the recipient.

Useful Idioms with Dar

Me di cuenta tarde.: I realized late.
Le di las gracias por todo.: I thanked him for everything.
Dimos un paseo por el parque.: We took a walk through the park.
Me dieron miedo las películas.: The movies scared me.
Le di un abrazo enorme.: I gave her a huge hug.

Dar fills a huge number of expressions: darse cuenta (to realize), dar las gracias (to thank), dar un paseo (to take a walk), dar miedo (to scare). All take the preterite the same way.

News and Information

Nos dio la noticia él mismo.: He himself gave us the news.
Le di mi opinión sin filtros.: I gave him my opinion without filters.
Le dieron información clara.: They gave him clear information.
Le di mi consejo cuando me lo pidió.: I gave him my advice when he asked for it.
Le diste una respuesta perfecta.: You gave him a perfect answer.

Dar covers passing along information, opinions, responses, and news. Each instance is anchored to a specific moment, hence the preterite.

Hits, Knocks, and Sudden Actions

Le dio un golpe a la puerta.: He hit the door.
Me di un golpe en la cabeza.: I bumped my head.
El sol me dio en los ojos.: The sun hit my eyes.
Se dieron la mano al final.: They shook hands at the end.
Le dio un beso de despedida.: She gave him a goodbye kiss.

Dar covers physical contact: hits, bumps, handshakes, kisses. The reflexive darse can describe both a hit you take and a mutual action between two people.

How to Form the Preterite of Dar

Dar Borrows the -er / -ir Endings

Despite being an -ar verb, dar uses the -er / -ir preterite endings: -i, -iste, -io, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. This is the only common -ar verb that crosses over to the other ending family in the preterite.

dar → d- → di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron.

to give → d- → I gave, you gave, he gave, we gave, you all gave, they gave.

Don't apply regular -ar preterite endings to dar. Da- + regular -ar endings would give incorrect forms (no dé, no dó).

No Written Accents

Unlike most verbs that take -er / -ir preterite endings (where the yo and él/ella forms carry accents: comí, comió), dar has no accents on any form. The forms di, dio, dimos are short enough that they don't need an accent to differentiate them.

di (not dí), dio (not dió).

No accent marks anywhere, identical to other irregular preterites in this respect.

Older Spanish wrote dió with an accent; modern spelling rules dropped it. Always write dio.

Indirect Object Pronouns with Dar

Dar almost always takes an indirect object pronoun (le, me, te, nos, os, les) before the conjugated verb to mark the recipient. The pronoun goes immediately before the verb, never after.

Le di un regalo. Nos dieron las noticias.

I gave him a gift. They gave us the news.

Recipient first, then verb, then thing given. If you forget the indirect object pronoun, the sentence often sounds incomplete to native ears.

Reflexive Darse

Reflexive darse + a preposition / adverb expresses sudden personal experiences: darse cuenta (to realize), darse prisa (to hurry), darse por vencido (to give up). Conjugation is the same, just add the reflexive pronoun.

Me di cuenta del error. Se dieron prisa.

I realized the mistake. They hurried.

Darse adds layers of figurative meaning without changing the conjugation pattern.

Common Mistakes with Preterite of Dar

Incorrect: Yo dé un regalo a mi madre. — I gave my mother a gift. (wrong, using a present subjunctive form)

Correct: Yo di un regalo a mi madre. — I gave my mother a gift.

Dé is the present subjunctive yo form of dar (que yo dé un regalo). The preterite yo form is di. Treating dar like a regular -ar verb (dé / dó) produces non-existent or wrong-tense forms.

Incorrect: Él dió la noticia con tristeza. — He gave the news with sadness. (wrong, accent doesn't belong)

Correct: Él dio la noticia con tristeza. — He gave the news with sadness.

Modern Spanish orthography drops the accent on dio. Older texts wrote dió with an accent, but current rules treat single-syllable forms like dio (and vio, fue) without accents.

Incorrect: Daba a mi hermana las flores. — I gave my sister the flowers. (wrong, imperfect for a one-shot act of giving)

Correct: Le di las flores a mi hermana. — I gave the flowers to my sister.

A single, completed past act of giving takes the preterite (di). The imperfect (daba) would describe habitual or ongoing giving over a stretch of past time. Also: the indirect object pronoun le almost always appears alongside the explicit recipient.

Preterite of Dar FAQs

What is the preterite of dar in Spanish?: The preterite of dar is irregular: di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron. Dar is an -ar verb but takes -er / -ir preterite endings, with no written accents on any form. Used for completed past acts of giving, telling, hitting, and many idioms. Example: Le di un regalo (I gave him a gift).
Why doesn't dio have an accent?: Modern Spanish orthography (since the 2010 RAE update) drops the accent on single-syllable forms like dio, fue, vio. Older texts wrote dió, but current rules treat these forms as one syllable and require no accent.
How do you use indirect object pronouns with the preterite of dar?: Dar almost always takes an indirect object pronoun (le, me, te, nos, os, les) before the conjugated verb to mark the recipient. Le di un regalo (I gave him a gift), Me dieron las llaves (They gave me the keys). The pronoun comes immediately before the verb, never after.
What's the difference between di and dé?: Di is the preterite yo form of dar (I gave, a completed past action). Dé (with an accent) is the present subjunctive yo and él/ella form, used after triggers like quiero que or es importante que. The accent on dé distinguishes the verb form from the preposition de (of, from).
How can I learn to use the preterite of dar naturally?: Dar appears in dozens of common idioms (dar las gracias, dar un paseo, darse cuenta), so exposure to real conversation locks the preterite in fast. Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using di / dio / dieron in everyday storytelling, where these idioms appear constantly.