Inklingo

daban

dah-bahn/ˈda.βan/

daban means they used to give in Spanish (repeated actions in the past).

they used to give, they were giving

Also: they gave
VerbA2irregular ar
A group of cheerful people handing out baskets of fruit to their neighbors in a colorful village.
gerunddando
past Participledado
infinitivedar

📝 In Action

Mis abuelos siempre me daban caramelos cuando los visitaba.

A2

My grandparents always used to give me candies when I visited them.

En esa época, ellos daban clases de baile los sábados.

B1

At that time, they were giving dance classes on Saturdays.

Las ventanas daban al jardín principal.

B1

The windows looked out onto (literally: 'gave to') the main garden.

Word Connections

Synonyms

Antonyms

Common Collocations

  • daban un paseothey were taking a walk
  • daban las graciasthey were saying thank you

Idioms & Expressions

  • daban en el clavothey were hitting the nail on the head

🔄 Conjugations

subjunctive

imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedesdieran
yodiera
dieras
vosotrosdierais
nosotrosdiéramos
él/ella/usteddiera

present

ellos/ellas/ustedesden
yo
des
vosotrosdeis
nosotrosdemos
él/ella/usted

indicative

preterite

ellos/ellas/ustedesdieron
yodi
diste
vosotrosdisteis
nosotrosdimos
él/ella/usteddio

imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedesdaban
yodaba
dabas
vosotrosdabais
nosotrosdábamos
él/ella/usteddaba

present

ellos/ellas/ustedesdan
yodoy
das
vosotrosdais
nosotrosdamos
él/ella/ustedda

Translate to Spanish

Words that translate to "daban" in Spanish:

they gave

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: daban

Question 1 of 1

Which sentence means 'They used to give me books every summer'?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family
dar(to give)Verb
dador(giver)Noun
🎵 Rhymes
📚 Etymology

From the Latin 'dabant', which is the third-person plural imperfect form of 'dare' (to give).

First recorded: 12th century

Cognates (Related words)

Portuguese: davamItalian: davano

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is 'daban' for 'they' or 'you all'?

It can be both! It is used for 'ellos' (they), 'ellas' (they, female), and 'ustedes' (you all).

Is 'daban' regular or irregular?

In the imperfect tense (this specific past tense), it actually follows the regular pattern for -ar verbs, even though 'dar' is irregular in many other tenses!