diste
DEES-teh
Quick Reference
📝 In Action
¿Qué me diste para mi cumpleaños?
A1What did you give me for my birthday?
Le diste la llave a Juan anoche.
A2You gave the key to Juan last night.
Cuando te diste cuenta del error, ya era tarde.
B1When you realized the mistake, it was already too late. (Figurative use: darse cuenta)
💡 Grammar Points
Tense Identification
'Diste' is the form you use to talk about an action ('giving') that you completed at a specific moment in the past. It uses the informal 'tú' form.
No Accent Rule
Even though 'dar' is irregular in the preterite (di, diste, dio), none of these forms carry a written accent mark, unlike most other preterite conjugations.
❌ Common Pitfalls
Confusing Imperfect vs. Preterite
Mistake: "¿Tú dabas el regalo ayer?"
Correction: ¿Tú diste el regalo ayer? 'Diste' (Preterite) is used for a single, finished action, while 'dabas' (Imperfect) describes repeated or ongoing past actions.
⭐ Usage Tips
Fixed Phrase Usage
The phrase 'darse cuenta' (to realize) is very common and uses 'diste' as 'te diste cuenta'.
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
imperfect
preterite
subjunctive
present
imperfect
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: diste
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence correctly uses 'diste' to describe a single action completed in the past?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does 'diste' not have an accent mark?
Spanish only places accent marks on words with two syllables or fewer if they need to differentiate meaning (like 'sí' vs. 'si'). 'Diste' has two syllables and follows the standard stress rule for words ending in a vowel, 's', or 'n' (stress on the next-to-last syllable), so no written accent is needed.