Dare is an extremely common verb. It basically means "to give." But it also gets used as a sort of catch-all.

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Dai!

We've seen it many times in its informal, imperative form, all by itself:

Dai, dai, dai, dai che ti ho preparato una cosa buonissima che ti piace moltissimo.

Come on, come on, come on, come on, because I made you something very good, that you like a lot.

Caption 74, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto - Part 3

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As we see, it doesn't mean "to give" in this case. It means something like "come on." As "come on," it has plenty of nuances.

Dai is often used as a filler, as part of an innocuous and fairly positive comment, and can mean something as generic as "OK." Let's keep in mind that va be' also means "OK!" Va be' is short for vabene (all right).

Mi dispiace, Massimo, ma dobbiamo rimandare il pranzo. Va beh, dai, se devi andare... facciamo un'altra volta.

I'm sorry, Massimo, but we have to postpone our lunch. OK, then, if you have to go... we'll do it some other time.

Captions 65-66, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena - Part 2

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Dai is also used to express surprise and/or skepticism. In this case, it is often preceded by ma (but). We see this in last week's segment of Commissario Manara, when Luca figures out that Marta might be the target of a shooting. She feigns skepticism. 

E se per caso il bersaglio non fosse stata la Martini, ma fossi stata tu? Io? Ma dai!

And if by chance the target hadn't been Martini, but had been you? Me? Yeah, right!

Captions 5-7, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP6 - Sotto tiro - Part 13

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An all-purpose verb: dare

In English we use the verb  "to have" when giving commands: "Have a seat," "Have a drink," "Have a look." In Italian, though, the verb avere (to have) is rarely used in these situations. And there isn't just one Italian verb that is used, so it may be practical to learn some of these expressions one by one. 

We use the verb dare when asking someone to do something like check (dare una controllata), or have a look (dare un'occhiata).

Dai un'occhiata, dai un'occhiata...

Have a look around, have a look around...

Caption 43, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro - Part 1

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Literally:

Let's not forget the literal meaning of dare, which can easily end up in the informal imperative.

E che fai, non me lo dai un bacetto, Bubbù?

And what do you do, won't you give me a little kiss, Bubbù?

Caption 41, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP10 - Un morto di troppo - Part 1

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Darsela a gambe

And to echo a recent lesson, and give another example of a verbo pronominale  (a phrasal verb using particelle or short pronoun-related particles) — this time with dare — we have darsela. We have the root verb dare (to give) plus se (to oneself, to themselves, to each other) and la (it). It's hard to come up with a generic translation, as it depends on the other words in the expression, but here are two different ones from Yabla videos. Maybe you can come up with other examples, and we will be glad to dare un'occhiata. The phrasal verb here is darsela a gambe (to beat it, or run away on one's legs).

È che è molto difficile trovare la donna giusta. Secondo me, se la trovi, te la dai a gambe.

It's that it's very difficult to find the right woman. In my opinion, if you find her, you'll high-tail it out of there.

Captions 29-30, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro - Part 9

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Here's a colorful example from this week's episode of La Ladra:

Aldo Piacentini e la, la, la Barbara Ricci, insomma, i presunti amanti,
che se le davano di santa ragione.

Aldo Piacentini and, uh, uh, uh Barbara Ricci, anyway, the presumed lovers,
who were really beating the crap out of each other.

Captions 45-46, La Ladra Ep. 5 - Chi la fa l'aspetti - Part 14

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The meaning of se le davano isn't very obvious, so let's try taking it apart. Se is a reciprocal indirect pronoun, "to each other"; le is the plural generic direct object pronoun, "them"; and dare, in this case, can stand for "to deliver". In English it might not mean much, but for Italians the meaning is quite clear.

We could say they are giving each other black eyes, if we want to use the original meaning of dare.

Di santa ragione adds emphasis or strength, and might be translated as "the holy crap," "the hell," or "really."

In case you haven't gotten the chance, check out this lesson about verbi pronominali. 

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English uses the word ride to mean different things, so when it comes to finding the right Italian word, we can easily be at a loss. Let’s look at some of the basic Italian words associated with “ride.”

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The first installment of the new episode of Commissario Manara, starting this week, gives us one important example:

Ma sei sicura che non hai bisogno di un passaggio?

But are you sure you don't need a ride?

Caption 8, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP8 - Morte di un buttero

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Il passaggio comes from the verb passare (to move from one place or state to another).

If you ride in a car, or on a two-wheeler, but are not the “driver,” you are il passeggero (the passenger).

For those who are curious, it’s not readily evident why there is an “e” and not an “a” in this word. It comes from the French passager (passenger, passing/temporary) and in Neapolitan the spelling is passaggiere!  But (going out on a limb), perhaps the adjective form passeggero (passing, temporary) might possibly have some connection with a passeggero (passenger) being a “temporary” occupant of the vehicle.
 

Attenzione! Don’t get confused between passaggio (a passage or ride) and andare a passeggio (to go for a stroll) with its verb form passeggiare (to stroll, walk) and noun form passeggiata (a stroll, a walk).

The subject of the new episode of Commissario Manara is il buttero, a sort of Tuscan cowboy, primarily associated with the Maremma part of Tuscany. What do these cowboys do? See this link for details about the butteri, but one thing is for sure. They ride horses.

We usually say andare a cavallo (to go horseback riding) to talk about riding a horse, but to be more specific, we use the verb cavalcare. The rider is il cavaliere. If you stay tuned for the next installment of Manara, you’ll be ready for this word!

We can also ride a bike: andare in bici, andare in bicicletta

If we go to the parco giochi (the amusement park), we may want to go on the rides. These rides are commonly grouped together with the merry-go-round, la giostra, and called le giostre (the rides, the attractions).

What about when we say, “let’s go for a ride”? In this case Italian uses the omnipresent giro. In English we usually put the means first, as an adjective: a train ride, a boat ride, a bike ride.
 

Ho bisogno di un bel giro in moto e di una birra.

I need a nice motorcycle ride and a beer.

Caption 12, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP3 - Rapsodia in Blu

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Note that the most common verb to use when going for a ride is fare (to make, to do).
 

Ho proprio voglia di fare un bel giro!

I really feel like going for a nice ride!

Caption 28, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro

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In a nutshell:

Riding:

cavalcare (to ride a horse)
andare a cavallo (to go horseback riding)
andare in bici (to ride a bike)
fare il passeggero (to ride as a passenger)
un passaggio (a ride/lift as a passenger)
fare un giro (to go for a ride)
le giostre (the rides at an amusement park)

Walking and in general:

andare a passeggio (to go for a walk)
fare una passeggiata (to go for a walk or ride)
passeggiare (to stroll)
passare (to move from one place to another)

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Just for fun:
 

Ieri ho fatto un giro in bici, ma poi ho forato, e quindi ho dovuto chiedere un passaggio ad un camionista. Non avevo mai fatto il passeggero in un mezzo così grande. Mi piace andare in bici, perché posso girare dove mi pare, usando le mie gambe. Mi piace pure andare a cavallo, ma non sono un cavaliere particolarmente bravo. Non cavalco bene come un buttero, ma, da più giovane, facevo delle bellissime passeggiate a cavallo in giro per la campagna toscana. Non era una passione passeggera, ma siccome sono caduto più volte cavalcando, ultimamente preferisco cavalcare i cavalli della giostra alle giostre o al parco giochi, oppure fare qualche passeggiata a piedi nel bosco, specialmente quando devo portare il cane a passeggio.

Yesterday I went for a bike ride, but I got a flat tire, and so I had to ask a truck driver for a ride. I had never been a passenger in such a large vehicle. I love going cycling, because I can go wherever I want, using my legs. I also like going horseback riding, but I’m not a particularly skilled rider. I don’t ride as well as a Maremmano cowboy, but when I was younger I went on some beautiful rides on horseback around the Tuscan countryside. It wasn’t a passing fancy, but since I fell several times while riding, lately I prefer to ride the horses on the merry-go-round at the carousel or amusement park, or else go for a walk in the woods, especially when I have to take the dog for a walk.