The core meaning of donar is “give,” but Catalan extends that core into permission, results, opportunities, formal closure, and many fixed expressions. The danger is assuming that every Spanish phrase with dar or every English phrase with give also uses donar. Catalan often chooses fer: fer por, fer vergonya, fer un petó.
The contrast cannot be reduced to “literal donar, figurative fer.” Donar lloc a is figurative and correct, while fer un petó is a concrete action. Speakers store preferred combinations of verb, noun, article, preposition, and clitic. The patterns here are standard across Catalan varieties; regional labels are unnecessary where the same contrast is general.
For a side-by-side decision guide, see donar or fer; for all inflected forms, use the donar reference page.
The pattern grid
| Domain | Pattern | Example | What varies |
|---|---|---|---|
| physical transfer | donar + thing + a + recipient | donar les claus a algú | thing, recipient, tense, clitics |
| permission/access | donar permís/via lliure per a | donar permís per entrar | authority, recipient, authorized action |
| result | donar resultat/fruit/lloc a/peu a | donar bon resultat | subject, result, complement |
| brief impact | donar un cop/una empenta | donar un cop a la porta | article, affected target |
| evaluation | donar per + participle/adjective | donar per acabada | object; participle agreement |
| reaction | usually fer + noun + dative, not donar | em fa por | experiencer clitic, stimulus |
Frame 1: transfer and the recipient
Substitutable frame: [Donor] + donar + [thing] + a [recipient].
Literal donar has a direct object—the thing transferred—and an indirect object—the recipient. A dative clitic normally marks that recipient, especially when it is a pronoun. If a full recipient phrase is also present, Catalan often doubles it with the clitic in ordinary speech.
Li donaré les claus a la veïna abans de marxar.
I'll give the keys to the neighbor before leaving. (everyday speech; li and a la veïna identify the same recipient)
Ens han donat una taula al costat de la finestra.
They've given us a table beside the window. (neutral)
Dona'm el rebut, que el guardaré amb la factura.
Give me the receipt; I'll keep it with the invoice. (informal; dona + em becomes dona'm)
The object can be abstract while the transfer grammar remains: donar una oportunitat a algú, donar suport a un projecte, donar una resposta a una pregunta. Articles are not random. Les gràcies is conventionally plural and definite; suport normally lacks an article in the general collocation.
Volem donar les gràcies a totes les famílies que hi han col·laborat.
We want to thank all the families who collaborated. (neutral/formal)
L'associació dona suport a les iniciatives del barri.
The association supports neighborhood initiatives. (neutral)
Frame 2: permission, access, and room to act
Substitutable frame: Donar [permís / autorització / via lliure] a [person] per [action].
Here what is “given” is institutional or social capacity. Donar permís is neutral; donar l'autorització is more explicit and often (formal); donar via lliure a metaphorically removes an obstacle and is common in administrative and journalistic language (formal/neutral). Everyday personal permission can also be expressed with deixar + infinitive, which is often lighter.
La propietària ens ha donat permís per pintar el menjador.
The owner has given us permission to paint the dining room. (neutral)
L'ajuntament ha donat via lliure a la reforma de la plaça.
The council has given the green light to renovating the square. (formal/neutral)
Els meus pares em deixen tornar tard avui.
My parents are letting me come home late today. (informal; a natural alternative to formal donar permís)
Els meus pares em donen permís per tornar tard is grammatical and comprehensible, but it foregrounds permission as an explicit authorization. In a casual family exchange, em deixen tornar tard is often more idiomatic.
Frame 3: producing a result
Substitutable frame: [Process/action] + donar [resultat / fruit / lloc a / peu a] + [outcome].
In this family, donar means “yield, produce, lead to.” The subject is not a donor with intentions; it is a method, action, plant, discussion, or condition that produces an outcome.
El tractament nou ha donat bon resultat en la majoria de casos.
The new treatment has produced good results in most cases. (neutral/formal)
Tants mesos de feina finalment han donat fruit.
So many months of work have finally borne fruit. (neutral, mildly figurative)
Una resposta ambigua pot donar peu a interpretacions contradictòries.
An ambiguous answer can give rise to contradictory interpretations. (formal/academic)
La fusió de les dues entitats donarà lloc a una cooperativa nova.
The merger of the two organizations will result in a new cooperative. (formal)
Do not confuse donar lloc a “give rise to” with fer lloc “make room.” Changing the light verb changes the meaning, even though both contain lloc.
Fes lloc al banc perquè també hi pugui seure l'avi.
Make room on the bench so Grandpa can sit there too. (informal; fer lloc, not donar lloc)
Impacts, gestures, and formulas that really use donar
Some short actions are conceptualized as delivered impacts: donar un cop, donar una empenta, donar una puntada de peu. Social formulas include donar la mà, donar les gràcies, donar el condol, and donar la benvinguda. Their articles are part of established usage.
Va donar dos cops a la porta, però no va respondre ningú.
He/She knocked twice on the door, but nobody answered. (neutral)
La presidenta va donar la benvinguda als participants en tres llengües.
The chair welcomed the participants in three languages. (formal)
—Em dones un cop de mà amb aquestes caixes? —Sí, deixa-les aquí.
—Can you give me a hand with these boxes? —Yes, leave them here. (informal mini-dialogue)
Donar un cop de mà is an idiom meaning “help,” not necessarily a physical hand movement. Its article and preposition are fixed, while person and tense vary.
Sensations: the crucial fer, not donar, contrast
Spanish commonly uses dar for emotional reactions. Standard Catalan normally uses fer with a dative experiencer: em fa por, li fa vergonya, ens fa pena, us fa ràbia. The stimulus is the subject, and the person affected is the indirect object.
| Standard Catalan | Meaning | Avoided Spanish-shaped calque |
|---|---|---|
| Això em fa por. | That scares me. | em dona por |
| Li fa vergonya parlar. | He/She is embarrassed to speak. | li dona vergonya |
| Ens fa pena marxar. | We're sad to leave. | ens dona pena |
| Em fa fàstic l'olor. | The smell disgusts me. | em dona fàstic |
A la Bruna li fa por conduir quan hi ha boira.
Bruna is afraid to drive when it's foggy. (neutral)
Em fa molta vergonya haver confós els dos noms.
I'm very embarrassed to have mixed up the two names. (neutral)
For appetite or sleepiness caused by something, Catalan can say fer venir gana/son: Aquesta olor em fa venir gana. A word-for-word em dona gana follows Spanish and is not the preferred standard frame.
Donar per and pronominal look-alikes
Donar per + adjective/participle means “consider, assume, or declare as.” When a stated object is feminine or plural, the participle commonly agrees with it.
Dono per acabada la reunió; enviarem l'acta aquesta tarda.
I declare the meeting closed; we'll send the minutes this afternoon. (formal; acabada agrees with reunió)
No donis per fet que tothom ha rebut el canvi d'horari.
Don't assume that everyone has received the schedule change. (neutral)
Do not confuse donar-se per vençut “give up, admit defeat” with adonar-se de “realize.” Modern adonar-se is a pronominal verb with de; the Spanish-shaped donar-se compte is not standard Catalan.
No es va donar per vençuda i ho va tornar a intentar.
She didn't give up and tried again. (neutral; vençuda agrees with the female subject)
Em vaig adonar de l'error quan ja havia enviat el missatge.
I realized the mistake after I had already sent the message. (neutral)
Literal versus idiomatic choices
| Expression | Literal image | Idiomatic function |
|---|---|---|
| donar fruit | give fruit | produce a valuable result |
| donar peu a | give a foot to | create an opening for |
| donar via lliure | give a free route | authorize / clear |
| donar un cop de mà | give a strike of hand | help |
| donar per fet | give as done | take for granted |
Some combinations genuinely allow both fer and donar, including fer/donar una ullada and fer/donar un cop d'ull. Do not turn the useful fer preference into an absolute ban on donar. Conversely, a proverb about generosity is socially excessive when a simple practical instruction is needed: phraseological color must fit the setting.
Common Mistakes
❌ Aquesta escala tan estreta em dona por.
Spanish-influenced light verb: standard Catalan uses fer por.
✅ Aquesta escala tan estreta em fa por.
This very narrow staircase scares me.
❌ Li vaig donar un petó abans que pugés a l'autobús.
Spanish-influenced collocation: standard Catalan uses fer un petó.
✅ Li vaig fer un petó abans que pugés a l'autobús.
I gave him/her a kiss before he/she got on the bus.
❌ No em dona temps d'acabar les diapositives avui.
Spanish-influenced in this personal-availability sense: Catalan says no tenir temps or no haver-hi temps; donar temps is possible when something literally allows or grants time.
✅ No tinc temps d'acabar les diapositives avui.
I don't have time to finish the slides today.
❌ Em vaig donar compte que faltava una pàgina.
Incorrect calque: realize is adonar-se de in standard Catalan.
✅ Em vaig adonar que faltava una pàgina.
I realized that a page was missing; de is omitted directly before que in this standard construction.
❌ La reforma farà lloc a tres habitatges nous.
Wrong light verb for 'give rise to': fer lloc means make physical room.
✅ La reforma donarà lloc a tres habitatges nous.
The renovation will result in three new homes.
Key Takeaways
- Literal donar maps a donor, a direct-object gift, and an indirect-object recipient.
- Permission uses donar permís/autorització/via lliure; casual “let” is often deixar + infinitive.
- Processes can donar resultat, donar fruit, donar peu a, or donar lloc a.
- Standard Catalan uses fer for many reactions and gestures: fer por, fer vergonya, fer pena, fer un petó.
- Learn fixed determiners: donar suport but donar les gràcies and donar la benvinguda.
- Donar per + participle expresses an assumption or declaration; adonar-se de means “realize.”
- Some pairs permit both verbs (fer/donar una ullada), so the distinction is collocational, not an absolute semantic rule.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Conjugation of donarA1 — Complete contemporary conjugation of donar for transfer, recipients, effects, support, time, clitics, and pronominal uses.
- Expressions with FerB1 — Understand how fer organizes weather, elapsed time, activities, causation, appearance, measurements, and Catalan do/make collocations.
- Donar or Fer in Common CollocationsB2 — Choose donar or fer as part of a complete Catalan collocation, especially where English or Spanish suggests the wrong light verb.
- Indirect-Object Weak PronounsA2 — Use em, et, li, ens, us, and els for recipients, addressees, experiencers, and other indirect objects.
- Li Plus El, La, Els, or LesB1 — Combine a singular third-person recipient with a definite direct object in Central and Valencian standard Catalan.
- Conjugation of adonar-seC1 — Complete conjugation and clitic syntax of adonar-se for realizing and noticing, including de-complements, en replacement, and compound forms.