Portuguese Verb “Dar”: An Idiomatic Gem

If you asked me to list the most frequently used, idiomatically rich verbs in Portuguese, I’d certainly put Dar on top of that list.

Dar means ‘give’, but it goes way beyond its literal meaning – you’ll find it in many set phrases and idioms. Here are a few examples:

[possibility – dar para]
Dá para me ajudares a preparar o jantar?
Could you help me prepare dinner?

[outcome – dar certo/errado]
Os planos deram certo.
The plans were successful.

[to notice – dar conta]
Quando dei conta do que se passava já era tarde demais.
When I realized what was going on it was already too late.

There’s much more to it. Read on.

Conjugation

Here’s how we conjugate Dar in the Present and Past tenses:

Usage

Give

As mentioned before, we use dar means ‘give’. A few examples:

Eles deram um carro novo ao filho
They gave their son a brand-new car.

Dava a minha vida por ti.
I’d give my life for you.

Vais-me dar as notícias?
Will you give me the news?

Ela deu o seu melhor.
She gave of her best.

Possibility