Before you start

Meet geben

Read how the verb is used, then write your own 10 sentences with it.

All 10 meanings

  1. (ditransitive) to give (changing ownership) [with dative ‘someone’ and accusative ‘something’]
  2. (ditransitive) to hand, to pass, to put within reach [with dative ‘someone’ and accusative ‘something’]
  3. (impersonal, transitive) Used to indicate that something exists (often with a certain property and/or in a certain location). Usually translated as there is/are or there exist(s) [with accusative]
  4. Used to indicate that something is on offer or being handed out, e.g. food for a meal or items sold in a shop
  5. (ditransitive, transitive) to communicate (helpful information such as a hint or advice), to signal (in a certain way such as a sign)
  6. (transitive) to present; to put
Forms

How geben changes

PronounPräsensPräteritum
ichgebegab
dugibstgabst
er/sie/esgibtgab
wirgebengaben
ihrgebtgabt
Siegebengaben

Partizip II gegeben · Perfekt with haben

Three examples

  1. 1
    Es gibt heute Suppe.There is soup today.There is / there are
  2. 2
    Ich habe meiner Mutter Blumen gegeben.I gave my mother flowers.Perfekt for giving
  3. 3
    Wenn du mir deine Nummer gibst, rufe ich dich an.If you give me your number, I’ll call you.Verb at the end after wenn
Verb family

Separable verbs built on geben

Add a prefix to geben and the meaning changes.

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