Did They Give You in Spanish? | Say It Without Sounding Lost

You’ll usually say “¿Te dieron…?” for casual speech, or “¿Le dieron…?” for polite speech, then name what was handed, provided, served, or administered.

“Did they give you…?” sounds simple in English. In Spanish, the clean version depends on what “give” means in that moment. A cashier can hand you a receipt. A nurse can administer a shot. A teacher can assign homework. A clerk can issue a document. Spanish uses different verbs, pronouns, and sometimes a different sentence shape to match each one.

This article shows the natural Spanish options, when to pick each one, and how to change tone from friendly to formal without twisting your tongue.

What You Mean By “Give” Changes The Spanish

Spanish “dar” covers a lot, yet native speakers swap it out when the action is more specific. If you pick the verb that matches the action, your question lands clean and people answer faster.

Fast Verb Picker For Real Situations

• Handed to you (receipt, bag, note):dar or entregar
• Provided to you (info, help, access):dar, proporcionar, facilitar
• Served to you (food, drink):servir
• Administered to you (vaccine, injection, medication):poner (shot), dar (meds), administrar (formal)
• Awarded or granted (prize, permit, scholarship):dar, conceder, otorgar
• Assigned (homework, task, appointment time):poner, dejar, asignar

Did They Give You in Spanish? Polite Ways To Ask

If you just need a direct translation, these two are the workhorses:

• Casual: ¿Te dieron…?
• Polite: ¿Le dieron…? (to one person you address as usted)

Then add the thing: ¿Te dieron el recibo? “Did they give you the receipt?” Or add a time or place: ¿Le dieron el papel en recepción?

Why “Te” And “Le” Matter

English hides the “to you” part inside the word order. Spanish shows it with a short pronoun. With dar, the receiver is an indirect object, so you’ll normally use te (you, informal) or le (you, polite). The Real Academia Española explains this pattern in its note on “dar, darse” in the Diccionario panhispánico de dudas.

Once you get comfortable with that, your questions stop sounding translated.

Choose Your Tone: Casual, Polite, Or Group

Spanish gives you clear switches for tone. Pick one set and stick with it through the conversation.

Casual “You”

Use these when you’d say “hey” in English and the vibe is relaxed.

• ¿Te dieron…?
• ¿Te lo dieron? (if “it” is already known)
• ¿Te dieron algo? (if you’re not sure what it was)

Polite “You”

Use these with staff, officials, older strangers, or any time you want distance.

• ¿Le dieron…?
• ¿Se lo dieron? (polite “they gave it to you”)
• ¿Le dieron algo? / ¿Le dieron alguna indicación?

“You All”

If you’re asking a group, you’ll hear regional choices. In Spain, vosotros is common; in much of Latin America, ustedes does the job.

• Spain (casual plural): ¿Os dieron…?
• General plural: ¿Les dieron…?

Word Order And Pronouns That Make You Sound Natural

Spanish lets you keep the noun, or swap it for a pronoun. The second option is what people use once the object is already clear.

When You Say The Thing

• ¿Te dieron la receta?
• ¿Le dieron la confirmación por correo?

When You Replace It With “Lo/La/Los/Las”

If the item is known, you can use a direct object pronoun. With dar, that often becomes a two-pronoun combo:

• ¿Te lo dieron? (they gave it to you)
• ¿Te la dieron? (they gave it to you, feminine noun)

With third-person receivers, Spanish changes le/les to se before lo/la/los/las: ¿Se lo dieron? If you’ve seen “le lo,” you’ve seen the form Spanish avoids.

A Quick Note On “Leísmo”

You may hear le used where grammar books expect lo, mainly in parts of Spain. If you’re aiming for wide, standard Spanish, keep lo/la for direct objects and le for the receiver. The RAE’s entry on leísmo gives the background and the standard guidance.

Common Meanings Of “Did They Give You” And The Best Spanish For Each

Here’s where most learners get tripped up: you say “give” in English, but Spanish hears a more exact action. Match the action and the reply you get will be clearer.

Handed To You At A Counter

Start with dar when the object is small and the action is simple.

• ¿Te dieron el recibo?
• ¿Le dieron la bolsa?
• ¿Te dieron tu cambio?

If you want a slightly more formal, “issued/handed over” feel, use entregar:

• ¿Le entregaron el documento?
• ¿Te entregaron la tarjeta?

Provided To You As Info Or Access

When “give” means “provide,” Spanish often prefers verbs that signal that exact action.

• ¿Te dieron la dirección correcta?
• ¿Le proporcionaron una copia?
• ¿Te facilitaron el enlace?

Served To You At A Restaurant

Food and drink usually take servir:

• ¿Te sirvieron el café?
• ¿Le sirvieron la sopa ya?

Administered To You In A Clinic

For injections, everyday Spanish often uses poner:

• ¿Te pusieron la vacuna?
• ¿Le pusieron la inyección?

For pills or meds you were handed, dar still works:

• ¿Te dieron el antibiótico?
• ¿Le dieron algo para el dolor?

If you need the formal verb, administrar is common in medical paperwork.

Awarded Or Granted To You

When “give” means “grant,” conceder and otorgar fit well:

• ¿Te concedieron la beca?
• ¿Le otorgaron el permiso?

If you stick with dar, it still works in everyday talk: ¿Te dieron la beca?

Given To You As A Task Or Requirement

Teachers and bosses often use verbs like dejar or poner when “give” is closer to “assign.”

• ¿Te dejaron tarea?
• ¿Te pusieron una cita para el lunes?

When you want the dictionary meaning of dar, the RAE’s definition list helps show how wide the verb is across contexts: “dar” in the Diccionario de la lengua española.

Table 1: Best Spanish Options By Situation

What “Give” Means In English	Natural Spanish Question	Notes On Tone Or Usage
Handed you a receipt	¿Te dieron el recibo? / ¿Le dieron el recibo?	Dar is the default for simple hand-offs.
Handed you a document formally	¿Le entregaron el documento?	Entregar sounds official and clean.
Gave you directions	¿Te dieron la dirección? / ¿Te dieron indicaciones?	Add buenas if you want: buenas indicaciones.
Provided you a link or access	¿Te facilitaron el enlace? / ¿Le dieron acceso?	Facilitar leans “made it easy to get.”
Served you food or drink	¿Te sirvieron el plato? / ¿Le sirvieron la bebida?	Servir is standard in restaurants.
Administered a vaccine	¿Te pusieron la vacuna? / ¿Le pusieron la vacuna?	Poner is common in everyday speech.
Gave you medicine	¿Te dieron el medicamento? / ¿Le dieron algo para…?	Dar works when meds are handed to you.
Granted a permit or scholarship	¿Te otorgaron el permiso? / ¿Te concedieron la beca?	Good for formal outcomes and decisions.
Assigned homework or an appointment	¿Te dejaron tarea? / ¿Te pusieron una cita?	Sounds natural for school and scheduling.

In news writing and formal Spanish, you’ll sometimes see set phrases with dar that change agreement, like dar por + adjective or participle. Fundéu collects real examples and points out the agreement pattern in its usage notes on “dar”.

Make The Question Clear With One Extra Detail

When someone asks you “¿Qué?” after your question, it’s often because the object is vague, not because your Spanish is wrong. One extra detail can fix that.

Add Who Gave It

• ¿Te lo dieron en recepción?
• ¿Se lo dieron en la ventanilla?

Add When It Happened

• ¿Te dieron el número ayer?
• ¿Le entregaron el papel esta mañana?

Add What You Expected

• ¿Te dieron una copia o solo el original?
• ¿Le dieron un recibo o una factura?

Fix The Two Mistakes That Give Away An English Pattern

These slip-ups show up a lot. Clean them up and your Spanish instantly sounds more native.

Using “Para Ti” Instead Of The Object Pronoun

¿Dieron eso para ti? is understandable, yet it sounds off. Spanish prefers the tiny pronoun: ¿Te dieron eso? Save para ti for emphasis: Eso es para ti, no para mí.

Keeping “They” When Spanish Would Drop It

English needs “they.” Spanish often doesn’t. If the doer is unknown or irrelevant, drop it: ¿Te dieron…? If you want an impersonal feel, Spanish can even use se: ¿Se lo dieron? (someone gave it to you).

Table 2: A One-Glance Builder For Your Exact Situation

Setting	Pick This Verb	Use This Question
Shop, hotel, office counter	dar / entregar	¿Te dieron…? / ¿Le entregaron…?
Restaurant or café	servir	¿Te sirvieron…? / ¿Le sirvieron…?
Clinic, pharmacy, hospital	poner / dar / administrar	¿Te pusieron…? / ¿Le dieron…?
School or training class	dejar / poner / asignar	¿Te dejaron…? / ¿Te pusieron…?
Permits, grants, awards	conceder / otorgar / dar	¿Te concedieron…? / ¿Te otorgaron…?
Tech access, links, instructions	facilitar / dar / proporcionar	¿Te facilitaron…? / ¿Te dieron acceso?

Mini Practice: Swap In Your Noun And Say It Out Loud

Pick one noun that fits your real situation and run these three lines. This is the fastest way to make the pattern feel automatic.

• ¿Te dieron ____?
• ¿Le dieron ____?
• ¿Te lo dieron / ¿Se lo dieron?

Then add one clarifier that makes the answer easy:

• …en recepción / en la ventanilla / en la sala
• …por correo / por mensaje / en papel
• …ayer / hoy / esta mañana

Regional Notes That Help You Understand Replies

You can use the forms above across the Spanish-speaking world. Still, you might hear a few local preferences in replies.

“Vos” Areas

In places where vos is common (parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Central America), people still say ¿Te dieron…? The main difference is in present tense forms like vos tenés, not in this preterite question.

Spain And “Le”

In Spain you may hear ¿Le viste? for “Did you see him?” That’s separate from dar patterns, yet it can influence what you overhear. If your goal is Spanish that lands well everywhere, stick to lo/la for the thing and le for the receiver.

Paperwork Spanish

Forms and letters often prefer nouns over pronouns: ¿Le fue entregada la documentación? In a conversation, you can keep it simple: ¿Le entregaron la documentación?

Closing Check: The Two Questions That Save You Time

Before you ask, make two choices:

• Am I speaking casually or politely? That picks te or le.
• Is “give” really hand, serve, administer, grant, or assign? That picks the verb.

Once those are set, your Spanish question is short, clear, and ready to use: ¿Te dieron…? or ¿Le dieron…? with the right noun.