The verb geben in German

Geben is like giving magic items in a game: you give something away and someone else gets it. Only in real life, instead of potions and swords, it's books, money, or advice. This verb is so common in German that you can't even say thank you without it (you can't say Danke geben, after all!). In this article, let's find out how to use geben correctly and not get confused by its forms.

The verb geben in German is when you give something away, give it away, or even give it as a gift. Imagine you have a delicious chocolate bar and you decide to share a piece with a friend - you gibst him the chocolate bar. What if your mom gives you pocket money? She gibt you a euro!
This verb translates as “to give”, but it can actually do more than that. For example:
Ich gebe dir einen Tipp. - I'm giving you some advice.
Kannst du mir mir das Buch geben? - Can you give me a book?
Es gibt viele Parks in dieser Stadt. - There are many parks in this city.
This last example is the trickiest! Es gibt means “is” or “exists”, and here geben no longer conveys anything to anyone, but you can't get anywhere in German without it.
So, if you want to generously “give away” knowledge in German, memorize geben - it is always at hand!

How it works:
Ich gebe Schokolade. - I give a chocolate bar (now).
Gestern gab ich Schokolade. - Yesterday I gave a chocolate bar (but I regretted it myself).
Ich habe Schokolade gegeben. - I gave a chocolate bar (and this is officially recorded in human history).
The trick is that in the second and third variants, the letter e turns into a and then back to e again. It's like geben is playing hide and seek with the letters!

The verb geben is like a magic wand that goes with almost everything. It can be used to:
Give something to someone
The most classic situation is to share things or information:
Ich gebe dir ein Geschenk. - I give you a gift (and expect feedback in the form of candy).
To pass on words or commands
Der Lehrer gibt uns Hausaufgaben. - The teacher gives us our homework (thank you all, everyone is free to go).
To say that something exists
Es gibt ein Café in der Nähe. - There is a café nearby (and it doesn't matter whether you want to go there or not - now you know it).
Giving out advice left and right
Er gibt gute Tipps. - He gives good advice (there's always a friend like that).
To produce the effect of “that was🔥”
Das gibt Ärger! - That will lead to trouble!
Das gibt Spaß! - It will be fun!
Geben - really universal! The main thing is not to confuse it with nehmen (to take), otherwise you might accidentally say “take my chocolate bar” instead of “give me a chocolate bar”... and that's another story.

If geben is the main character, its derived verbs are a whole team of superheroes with their own chips. They appear when prefixes are substituted for geben, and that's when the verb starts to work its magic!
Here are the top 5 derivatives that will definitely come in handy:
aufgeben - to give up or send something away
Ich gebe nie auf! - I never give up!
Er gibt ein Paket auf. - He's sending a package (hopefully with a chocolate bar).
abgeben - to give or give up
Bitte die Hausaufgaben abgeben! - Please turn in your homework (and pray it doesn't get checked right away).
mitgeben - to give something with you
Meine Oma gibt mir Kekse mit. - My grandmother gives me cookies to take with me (and that's the best kind of luggage).
zurückgeben - to return
Wann gibst du mir mir mein Buch zurück? - When will you give me my book back? (Hopefully sooner than I gave it to you.).
angeben - to boast
Er gibt mit seinem neuen Handy an. - He's showing off his new phone (and we're not even jealous... almost).
So if you want to sound like a real German pro, remember that geben is not just “to give,” but a whole world of possibilities!

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