# Donner Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Give”

> **Donner** means “to give”. Présent: **je donne, tu donnes, il donne, nous donnons, vous donnez, ils donnent** — fully regular. The recipient follows **à**, which makes them an indirect object: *je lui donne le livre*, never “je le donne” when you mean the person.

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Updated: 2026-09-16

## Présent — a model -er verb

Stem donn-, standard endings. The double n belongs to the stem and never changes.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je donne | I give |
| tu donnes | you give |
| il / elle donne | he / she gives |
| nous donnons | we give |
| vous donnez | you give |
| ils / elles donnent | they give |

## The thing takes le; the person takes lui

Donner quelque chose à quelqu’un. The thing is direct, the person is indirect — and they use different pronouns.

| French | Means |  |
|---|---|---|
| je donne le livre à Marie | I give the book to Marie | full version |
| je le donne à Marie | I give it to Marie | the thing → le |
| je lui donne le livre | I give her the book | the person → lui |
| je le lui donne | I give it to her | both, and in that order |
| donne-le-moi | give it to me | imperative flips the order |

**The pronoun order is fixed** — Before the verb, the thing comes before the person: je le lui donne. In a positive imperative both move behind the verb and swap: donne-le-moi. French speakers do this without thinking; learners have to drill it.

**Verbs that share this shape** — Anything you can do to somebody: dire, écrire, envoyer, offrir, montrer, prêter, rendre. All take à before the person, and therefore lui or leur.

## Donner or offrir?

Donner is neutral — handing something over. Offrir means giving as a present, or treating someone. For a birthday you offrez a gift; you do not donnez one, which would sound like a transfer of property.

- Tu peux me donner le sel ? — pass me the salt.
- Je lui ai offert un livre. — I gave her a book, as a present.
- Ça donne sur la mer. — it looks out onto the sea.
- Ça me donne faim. — that makes me hungry.

## Passé composé — donné

Regular, with avoir. It agrees with a preceding direct object only — la lettre que je lui ai donnée — and never with the indirect one.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’ai donné | I gave / have given |
| tu as donné | you gave / have given |
| il / elle a donné | he / she gave / have given |
| nous avons donné | we gave / have given |
| vous avez donné | you gave / have given |
| ils / elles ont donné | they gave / have given |

## Imparfait — used to give

Je donnais, from the nous stem.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je donnais | I used to give / was giving |
| tu donnais | you used to give / was giving |
| il / elle donnait | he / she used to give / was giving |
| nous donnions | we used to give / was giving |
| vous donniez | you used to give / was giving |
| ils / elles donnaient | they used to give / was giving |

## Futur and conditionnel

Full infinitive as stem: je donnerai.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je donnerai | I will give |
| tu donneras | you will give |
| il / elle donnera | he / she will give |
| nous donnerons | we will give |
| vous donnerez | you will give |
| ils / elles donneront | they will give |

## Conditionnel — would give

Je donnerais. Je donnerais cher pour… — “I’d give a lot to…”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je donnerais | I would give |
| tu donnerais | you would give |
| il / elle donnerait | he / she would give |
| nous donnerions | we would give |
| vous donneriez | you would give |
| ils / elles donneraient | they would give |

## Subjonctif — regular

Identical to the présent in four forms.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je donne | (that) I give |
| tu donnes | (that) you give |
| il / elle donne | (that) he / she give |
| nous donnions | (that) we give |
| vous donniez | (that) you give |
| ils / elles donnent | (that) they give |

## Impératif — and the pronoun dance

Donne ! with no s. Attach pronouns with hyphens and reverse the order: donne-le-moi. In the negative, everything goes back in front: ne me le donne pas.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| donne ! | give! (to one person you know) |
| donnons ! | let’s give! |
| donnez ! | give! (formal, or to a group) |

## Plus-que-parfait — had given

Je lui avais donné.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’avais donné | I had given |
| tu avais donné | you had given |
| il / elle avait donné | he / she had given |
| nous avions donné | we had given |
| vous aviez donné | you had given |
| ils / elles avaient donné | they had given |

## FAQ

### How do you conjugate donner in the present tense?

Je donne, tu donnes, il / elle donne, nous donnons, vous donnez, ils / elles donnent.

### Is it je le donne or je lui donne?

Both, for different things. Le replaces the thing given; lui replaces the person it goes to, because they follow à.

### How do you say “give it to me” in French?

Donne-le-moi to someone you know, donnez-le-moi otherwise. In a positive imperative the pronouns go after the verb and swap order.

### What is the difference between donner and offrir?

Donner is neutral handing over. Offrir means giving as a present or treating someone — je t’offre un café.

### Does the participle agree after donner?

Only with a direct object placed before the verb — la lettre que je lui ai donnée. Never with the indirect object.

## Related guides

- Écrire conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/ecrire-conjugation
- Ouvrir conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/ouvrir-conjugation
- French verb conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/french-verb-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides