Rocket German: To Give

To Give Or Not To Give

The word “geben” means to give, but there is also another word in German for to give: “schenken”. The concept behind “schenken” is slightly different though. Let’s have a look at the conjugation and some examples first.

Singular

ich schenke	I give
du schenkst	you give (casual)
er schenkt	he gives
sie schenkt	she gives
es schenkt	it gives

Plural

wir schenken	we give
ihr schenkt	you give (casual)
sie schenken	they give
Sie schenken	you give (polite)

Zum Beispiel:

Ich schenke dir einen Strauß Blumen.

I give you a bunch of flowers.

Schenkst du mir etwas zum Geburtstag?

Are you going to give me something for my birthday?

Ich schenke Paul nichts zu Weihnachten.

I won’t give Paul anything for Christmas.

The word “schenken“ implies that you give something to someone without ever wanting it back. Use “schenken” when talking about presents and gifts. Use “geben” when you want someone to give or pass you something.

Zum Beispiel:

Gibst du mir bitte die Butter?

Could you please pass me the butter?

Geben Sie mir bitte drei Kilo Kartoffeln.

Please give me three kilos of potatoes

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