أَعْطَى “give” is both syntactically rich and morphologically irregular-looking. It can take two direct objects—the recipient and the thing given—and its final weak radical appears as ى، ي، or zero in different parts of the paradigm. The reliable method is to learn the principal parts and the complement frame together.
Traditional Arabic dictionaries index the verb under the root ع-ط-و. Some learner analyses label the final radical ي because yāʾ surfaces in يُعْطِي، أَعْطَيْتُ, and related forms. The lexicographic analysis is ع-ط-و, while the practical conjugational fact is that this Form-IV verb behaves as a final-weak—or defective—stem with extensive yāʾ realization.
Lookup card: أَعْطَى — يُعْطِي
This is Form IV, but its final weak radical reshapes the ordinary أَفْعَلَ — يُفْعِلُ — إِفْعَالًا pattern. The derivational hamza is hamzat al-qaṭʿ and must always be written. Compare the regular pattern on the Form-IV overview before examining the contractions below.
| Part | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| perfect, 3 m.sg. | أَعْطَى | he gave |
| imperfect, 3 m.sg. | يُعْطِي | he gives / is giving |
| imperative, 2 m.sg. | أَعْطِ | give! |
| maṣdar | إِعْطَاءٌ | giving |
| active participle | مُعْطٍ / الْمُعْطِي | giver; giving |
| passive participle | مُعْطًى | given; recipient |
| passive | أُعْطِيَ / يُعْطَى | was given / is given |
When it is indefinite and nominative or genitive, the active participle is written without final yāʾ: مُعْطٍ. The yāʾ returns with the article or in construct: الْمُعْطِي، مُعْطِي الْمِنْحَةِ. These participles are valid but less central in everyday prose than the finite verb and maṣdar.
أعطى المدير الموظفة نسخة من العقد.
ʾaʿṭā l-mudīru l-muwaẓẓafata nuskhatan mina l-ʿaqd.
The director gave the employee a copy of the contract. (Formal neutral.)
يعطي البرنامج المستخدمين تنبيها قبل انتهاء الجلسة.
yuʿṭī l-barnāmaju l-mustakhdimīna tanbīhan qabla ntihāʾi l-jalsa.
The program gives users a warning before the session ends. (Formal technical register.)
Two direct objects: recipient and gift
The core frame is giver + أعطى + recipient + gift. In fully inflected Arabic, both recipient and gift are accusative. Semantically they are not interchangeable: the recipient gains possession or access, while the second object is what is transferred.
أعطت المعلمة الطالبتين وقتا إضافيا.
ʾaʿṭati l-muʿallimatu ṭ-ṭālibatayni waqtan ʾiḍāfiyyan.
The teacher gave the two students extra time. (Formal.)
أعطينا الفريق فرصة أخرى لتصحيح الخطأ.
ʾaʿṭaynā l-farīqa furṣatan ʾukhrā litaṣḥīḥi l-khaṭaʾ.
We gave the team another opportunity to correct the error. (Formal.)
Arabic also permits a one-object frame with the gift as direct object and the recipient introduced by لـ: أعطى الكتابَ للطالب. This is useful when the gift is already topical or when the writer wants to state the beneficiary explicitly.
أعطى المدير المفتاح للحارس الجديد.
ʾaʿṭā l-mudīru l-miftāḥa lil-ḥārisi l-jadīd.
The director gave the key to the new guard. (Formal.)
Do not mix the frames halfway. Choose أعطى الحارسَ المفتاحَ with two direct objects or أعطى المفتاحَ للحارس with a direct gift plus لـ recipient. The second order is not merely English imitation; it is a genuine Arabic option with a different information structure.
Pronoun objects and clitics
An attached pronoun can encode the recipient: أعطاني “he gave me,” أعطاها “he gave her,” أعطيتهم “I gave them.” The thing given can remain an overt second object.
أعطاني الطبيب موعدا جديدا الأسبوع المقبل.
ʾaʿṭānī ṭ-ṭabību mawʿidan jadīdan l-ʾusbūʿa l-muqbil.
The doctor gave me a new appointment next week. (Formal neutral.)
أعطيتها نسخة إلكترونية من البحث.
ʾaʿṭaytuhā nuskhatan ʾiliktrūniyyatan mina l-baḥth.
I gave her an electronic copy of the research paper. (Formal.)
When both objects are pronouns, contemporary MSA normally keeps the recipient attached and expresses the gift independently: أعطيته إياها “I gave it to him.” Classical grammar also licenses two attached object pronouns in certain orders, as in أعطيتكه “I gave it to you,” but that compact pattern is uncommon in contemporary expository prose. The detached إياه/إياها pattern is transparent and avoids the ordering restrictions on two attached pronouns.
كانت سلمى تحتاج إلى البطاقة، فأعطيتها إياها.
kānat salmā taḥtāju ʾilā l-biṭāqati, fa-ʾaʿṭaytuhā ʾiyyāhā.
Salma needed the card, so I gave it to her. (Formal.)
More than physical transfer
أعطى extends to granting time, permission, attention, priority, information, and results. These are ordinary modern uses, not metaphors requiring a special construction. Complements of nouns still keep their own government: أعطى الأولويةَ لـ “gave priority to,” أعطى الإذنَ لـ “gave permission to.”
أعطت الوزارة الأولوية للمناطق الأكثر تضررا.
ʾaʿṭati l-wizāratu l-ʾawlawiyyata lil-manāṭiqi l-ʾakthari taḍarruran.
The ministry gave priority to the most severely affected areas. (Formal administrative register.)
أعطت التجربة نتائج مشجعة في مرحلتها الأولى.
ʾaʿṭati t-tajribatu natāʾija mushajjiʿatan fī marḥalatihā l-ʾūlā.
The experiment yielded encouraging results in its first stage. (Formal academic register.)
In the second example, the experiment is not a human giver. أعطى means “produce, yield,” and the results are its direct object. English uses a separate verb more readily, but Arabic preserves the transfer-like image.
The final-weak paradigm
The perfect أعطى ends in alif maqṣūra. Before consonant-initial suffixes, yāʾ reappears: أعطيتُ، أعطينا، أعطيتنَّ. Before the masculine-plural ending, the weak radical drops: أعطوا.
| Environment | Form | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| هو, perfect | أَعْطَى | final weak vowel written ى |
| أنا / نحن, perfect | أَعْطَيْتُ / أَعْطَيْنَا | yāʾ surfaces before suffix |
| هم, perfect | أَعْطَوْا | weak radical absent before وا |
| indicative | يُعْطِي | final yāʾ retained |
| after لن | لَنْ يُعْطِيَ | subjunctive fatḥa follows yāʾ |
| after لم | لَمْ يُعْطِ | jussive deletes final yāʾ |
لن يعطي البنك العميل قرضا قبل مراجعة الضمانات.
lan yuʿṭiya l-banku l-ʿamīla qarḍan qabla murājaʿati ḍ-ḍamānāt.
The bank will not give the client a loan before reviewing the guarantees. (Formal.)
لم يعط المدير الفريق وقتا كافيا.
lam yuʿṭi l-mudīru l-farīqa waqtan kāfiyan.
The director did not give the team enough time. (Formal; singular jussive deletes final yāʾ.)
Commands and passive voice
The masculine-singular command is أَعْطِ. The final yāʾ is absent just as in the singular jussive. It reappears in the feminine singular, dual, and feminine plural commands, but remains absent before masculine plural -ū.
| Addressee | Imperative |
|---|---|
| أنتَ | أَعْطِ |
| أنتِ | أَعْطِي |
| أنتما | أَعْطِيَا |
| أنتم | أَعْطُوا |
| أنتنَّ | أَعْطِينَ |
أعطني العنوان الكامل وسأرسل الوثائق اليوم.
ʾaʿṭinī l-ʿunwāna l-kāmila wa-saʾursilu l-wathāʾiqa l-yawm.
Give me the full address and I will send the documents today. (Formal neutral.)
أعطوهم فرصة لشرح موقفهم.
ʾaʿṭūhum furṣatan lisharḥi mawqifihim.
Give them an opportunity to explain their position. (Formal command to a male or mixed group.)
In the passive, the recipient can become the grammatical subject while the gift remains accusative: أُعطي الموظفُ مكافأةً. Alternatively, the gift can be promoted when the recipient is expressed with لـ: أُعطيت المكافأةُ للموظف.
أعطي الموظف مكافأة تقديرا لعمله.
ʾuʿṭiya l-muwaẓẓafu mukāfaʾatan taqdīran liʿamalih.
The employee was given a bonus in appreciation of his work. (Formal passive.)
تعطى الأولوية للطلبات المكتملة.
tuʿṭā l-ʾawlawiyyatu liṭ-ṭalabāti l-muktamila.
Priority is given to complete applications. (Formal administrative register.)
Common Mistakes
Writing the perfect with ordinary alif
❌ أعطا المدير الموظفة نسخة.
Incorrect spelling—the unsuffixed perfect ends in alif maqṣūra: أعطى.
✅ أعطى المدير الموظفة نسخة.
ʾaʿṭā l-mudīru l-muwaẓẓafata nuskha.
The director gave the employee a copy.
Keeping final yāʾ in the singular jussive spelling
❌ لم يعطي المدير سببا للرفض.
Incorrect for the singular jussive after لم—the final yāʾ is deleted.
✅ لم يعط المدير سببا للرفض.
lam yuʿṭi l-mudīru sababan lir-rafḍ.
The director gave no reason for the refusal.
Dropping hamzat al-qaṭʿ from the imperative
❌ اعطني نسخة من الفاتورة.
Incorrect spelling—Form IV begins with written hamzat al-qaṭʿ: أعطني.
✅ أعطني نسخة من الفاتورة.
ʾaʿṭinī nuskhatan mina l-fātūra.
Give me a copy of the invoice.
Directly joining same-rank object pronouns
❌ أعطيتهوه.
Incorrect in the neutral standard pattern—two identical third-person object pronouns cannot be joined this way; express the second with إياه.
✅ أعطيته إياه.
ʾaʿṭaytuhu ʾiyyāhu.
I gave it to him.
Key Takeaways
- أعطى is a final-weak Form-IV verb traditionally indexed under ع-ط-و; yāʾ nevertheless surfaces throughout its paradigm.
- Its core syntax allows recipient plus gift as two direct objects, or gift plus لـ recipient.
- The singular jussive and masculine-singular imperative delete final yāʾ: لم يعطِ، أعطِ.
- Attached pronouns commonly encode the recipient: أعطاني، أعطيتها، أعطوهم.
- The passive can promote either the recipient in the two-object frame or the gift in the لـ frame.
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