donner at C1 — refined & idiomatic

« donner » — jump to your level:A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 Native

The idioms carry more weight than the literal verb at this level.

Where donner stops meaning give

Étant donné — given that — opens a reasoned argument: « étant donné la situation, nous annulons ». It is the connector you want in written French, and it is invariable in this fixed form.

In speech, ça donne quoi ? asks how something turned out — a result, a test, a recipe. And se donner du mal means to go to a lot of trouble: « il s’est donné du mal » is real praise.

💡 Focus at this level: Idiomatic — étant donné, ça donne

👨‍🏫 How to use « donner » at this level

1. « Étant donné » for written argument. Formal, neutral, very common.

2. « Ça donne quoi ? » asks for the outcome. Pure spoken French.

3. « Se donner du mal » is a compliment. Use it about other people.

Étant donné la situation, nous annulons.Given the situation, we’re cancelling.

Ça donne quoi, ton projet ?How’s your project turning out?

Il s’est donné du mal.He went to a lot of trouble.

Cela donne à réfléchir.That gives food for thought.

🎮 Practise « donner »

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