dát / dávat — to give, to put | Czech Grammar

dát / dávat ("to give, to put") is among the highest-frequency verbs in Czech, and you will use it constantly — to give things, to put things somewhere, and above all to order food and drink. It is an aspect pair: dát is the perfective member (a single, completed act of giving) and dávat is the imperfective member (giving as a process, a habit, or something repeated). Master its conjugation and its case requirements and a huge amount of daily Czech opens up.

Government: dative + accusative

Before the tables, learn the case frame, because it is the engine of the whole verb. dát/dávat takes a dative recipient (the person who receives) and an accusative thing (what is given). This mirrors English "give someone something," but where English relies on word order, Czech marks the roles with cases.

Dám ti dárek.

I'll give you a present. (ti = dative 'to you', dárek = accusative 'present')

Dala mámě kytku.

She gave Mum a flower. (mámě = dative, kytku = accusative)

Because the cases carry the meaning, the order is flexible — Dám ti dárek and Dárek ti dám are both fine, with different emphasis. See dative verbs and the dative as indirect object.

Present-future of dát (perfective)

dát is perfective, so its "present" endings actually express the future — a single completed giving still to come. The stem is dá-, with the long vowel throughout except in the third-person plural.

Person	Form	Meaning (future)
já	dám	I'll give
ty	dáš	you'll give
on / ona / ono	dá	he / she / it will give
my	dáme	we'll give
vy	dáte	you'll give
oni / ony / ona	dají	they'll give

Note the third-person plural dají (short -a-), parallel to dělají. The shape looks like the -á- class, but dát is a short, irregular-leaning verb that simply follows the dá- pattern — don't expect a "dávám"-style long stem here.

Dám ti vědět, jakmile to budu vědět.

I'll let you know as soon as I know.

Dáme si pauzu?

Shall we take a break? (more on dát si below)

Present of dávat (imperfective)

dávat is a fully regular -á- class verb (stem dává-) describing giving as a repeated or habitual action, or a process under way.

Person	Form	Meaning
já	dávám	I give / I'm giving
ty	dáváš	you give
on / ona / ono	dává	he / she / it gives
my	dáváme	we give
vy	dáváte	you give
oni / ony / ona	dávají	they give

Každý měsíc dávám něco na charitu.

Every month I give something to charity. (habitual — imperfective)

Babička dětem pořád dává sladkosti.

Grandma keeps giving the kids sweets. (repeated action)

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dávat also means "to be on" of TV and films: Co dávají v kině? ("What's on at the cinema?"). It is one of those everyday meanings that no dictionary gloss of "to give" quite prepares you for.

Past tense

Both members form the past from the l-participle (dal / dával) plus the být auxiliary in the first and second persons, with gender agreement. See forming the past tense.

Subject	dát (perfective)	dávat (imperfective)
já (m.)	dal jsem	dával jsem
já (f.)	dala jsem	dávala jsem
on	dal	dával
ona	dala	dávala
ono	dalo	dávalo
my (m. anim.)	dali jsme	dávali jsme
my (f.)	daly jsme	dávaly jsme

Dal jsem ti to včera, copak si nevzpomínáš?

I gave it to you yesterday — don't you remember? (completed act — male speaker)

Dávali jsme jim peníze každý měsíc.

We used to give them money every month. (repeated — imperfective past)

Imperfective future and imperative

The imperfective future uses budu + dávat; the perfective future is just dám. The imperatives differ by stem.

Form	dát (perfective)	dávat (imperfective)
future (já)	dám	budu dávat
imperative (ty)	dej	dávej
imperative (vy)	dejte	dávejte

Dej mi to!

Give it to me! (one-time, perfective)

Dávej pozor!

Pay attention! / Be careful! (a standing instruction — imperfective; lit. 'keep giving attention')

dát si — ordering and "having" food and drink

This is the use you will reach for in every café and restaurant. The reflexive dát si ("to give oneself") is the standard way to say you'll have or order something to eat or drink. The thing ordered is in the accusative; si is the dative reflexive.

Dám si kávu a vodu, prosím.

I'll have a coffee and a water, please.

Co si dáš k obědu?

What are you going to have for lunch?

Dáme si ještě jedno pivo.

Let's have one more beer.

The imperfective dávat si shifts to habit ("I usually have…") or to the fixed phrase dávat si pozor ("to be careful").

Ráno si vždycky dávám ovesnou kaši.

In the morning I always have porridge. (habitual)

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For a foreigner, Dám si… plus the accusative is the single most useful sentence pattern for any café or hospoda. Pair it with prosím at the end and you sound natural and polite instantly.

dá se — "it's possible"

The reflexive dát se with the neuter to (or no subject) is an extremely common impersonal expression meaning "it can be done / it's possible / it's all right."

Dá se to opravit?

Can it be fixed? / Is it fixable?

Ta kniha se dá přečíst za jeden večer.

That book can be read in a single evening.

Jak se máš? — Ujde to, dá se.

How are you? — Not bad, can't complain. (idiomatic 'dá se' = 'it'll do')

dát + infinitive — the causative

dát plus an infinitive expresses having something done by someone else — a causative, much like English "have/get something done." The implied agent is left out.

Dal jsem si ostříhat vlasy.

I got my hair cut. (lit. 'I gave myself to cut the hair' — male speaker)

Musíme dát opravit auto.

We have to get the car repaired.

Common mistakes

❌ Dám tě dárek.

Wrong — tě is accusative; the recipient of dát must be dative.

✅ Dám ti dárek.

I'll give you a present. (ti = dative)

❌ Budu dát ti vědět.

Wrong — budu cannot take a perfective infinitive.

✅ Dám ti vědět.

I'll let you know. (perfective future, no budu)

❌ Chci kávu, prosím.

Understandable, but blunt — 'I want a coffee' sounds demanding to Czech ears.

✅ Dám si kávu, prosím.

I'll have a coffee, please. (the natural, polite ordering formula)

❌ Oni dávaj peníze na charitu.

Wrong register — bare -aj is spoken/colloquial, not standard.

✅ Oni dávají peníze na charitu.

They give money to charity. (standard: dávají)

❌ Dal jsem si stříhat vlasy.

Wrong aspect/stem — the fixed causative phrase uses the perfective infinitive ostříhat.

✅ Dal jsem si ostříhat vlasy.

I got my hair cut.

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