donner at C1 — refined & idiomatic
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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.
🎮 Practise « donner »
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