Mainstream Cairene ادّى idda is the everyday verb “give.” It is both high-frequency and morphologically unusual: compare ادّى / يدي / ادي / اديت idda / yiddi / iddi / iddēt. The final ى of the third-person perfect does not remain unchanged before endings, while the imperfect and imperative end in i.
The verb is inherited Arabic, but learners should treat its Cairo stem bundle as a lexical fact rather than reconstruct it from formal أعطى. This page covers the practical paradigm and the theme–recipient frames. General final-weak morphology belongs on defective verbs.
The complete practical paradigm
In ordinary unvocalized writing, spellings vary between initial ا and إ. This page keeps ادى، اديت، ادي as its house spellings inside examples; the fully pointed line supplies the pronunciation.
| Subject | Perfect | B-imperfect | Bare imperfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| أنا | اديت iddēt | بادي baddi | ادي addi |
| إنت | اديت iddēt | بتدي bitiddi | تدي tiddi |
| إنتي | اديتي iddēti | بتدي bitiddi | تدي tiddi |
| هو | ادى idda | بيدي biyiddi | يدي yiddi |
| هي | ادت iddit | بتدي bitiddi | تدي tiddi |
| إحنا | ادينا iddēna | بندي biniddi | ندي niddi |
| إنتوا | اديتوا iddētu | بتدوا bitiddu | تدوا tiddu |
| هم | ادوا iddu | بيدوا biyiddu | يدوا yiddu |
ادينا الجيران نسخة من المفتاح قبل ما نسافر.
iddēna g-gīrān noskha min il-miftāḥ ʾabl ma nsāfir.
We gave the neighbors a copy of the key before traveling.
المحل بيدي ضمان سنة على الجهاز ده.
il-maḥall biyiddi ḍamān sana ʿala l-gihāz da.
The shop gives a one-year warranty on this device.
The b-imperfect presents a current, repeated, or characteristic giving event. The bare form follows modals and other licensing contexts:
لازم ندي كل واحد فرصة يشرح رأيه.
lāzim niddi kull wāḥid forṣa yishraḥ raʾyu.
We have to give everyone a chance to explain their opinion.
Future and imperative
Future حـ joins the bare imperfect: حادي ḥaddi, حتدي ḥatiddi, حيدي ḥayiddi, حندي ḥaniddi. In ordinary writing, the joined forms can look opaque, so connect them to the bare-person form, not to English will give.
حنديك الرد النهائي بعد ما المدير يراجع الطلب.
ḥaniddīk ir-radd in-nihāʾi baʿd ma l-modīr yirāgiʿ iṭ-ṭalab.
We'll give you the final answer after the manager reviews the application. (to one man)
The command is ادي iddi to one person in the Cairo baseline; masculine and feminine are normally identical here. The plural is ادوا iddu. An object suffix attaches directly.
اديها الإيصال وخليها تمضي هنا.
iddīha l-ʾīṣāl wi-khallīha timḍi hina.
Give her the receipt and have her sign here. (to one person)
ادوا كل طفل كراسة وقلم رصاص.
iddu kull ṭifl kurrāsa wi-ʾalam raṣāṣ.
Give each child a notebook and a pencil. (to a group)
Two full objects: recipient and theme
The theme is what changes hands; the recipient receives it. Cairene allows a recipient before the theme, especially when the recipient is short and animate:
ادت منى السواق العنوان مكتوب في ورقة.
iddit Mona s-sawwāʾ il-ʿonwān maktūb fi waraʾa.
Mona gave the driver the address written on a piece of paper.
A second transparent frame places the theme directly after the verb and introduces the recipient with لـ:
اديت النسخة لسلمى عشان تراجعها.
iddēt in-noskha li-Salma ʿashān tirāgiʿha.
I gave the copy to Salma so she could review it.
English permits give the driver the address and give the address to the driver, so the broad alternation is familiar. The crucial Egyptian difference appears when one or both objects become clitics.
Object clitics and their order
With a pronominal theme plus pronominal recipient, the productive chain is:
verb + theme suffix + لـ + recipient suffix
Thus اديتهولك packages “I gave it.M to you.M.” The theme is closer to the verb; recipient لـ follows it. Hyphens belong only in analysis, never in Arabic spelling.
الكتاب كان عندي، بس اديتهولك يوم الجمعة.
il-kitāb kān ʿandi, bass iddētahūlak yōm il-gomʿa.
I had the book, but I gave it to you on Friday. (to one man)
With a full theme, recipient لـ can attach while the noun remains outside:
اديتلها رقم المكتب عشان تكلمهم.
iddētilha raʾam il-maktab ʿashān tikallimhum.
I gave her the office number so she could call them.
The full system is mapped on two-object clitics.
Negation closes after every clitic
Perfect negative ماديتش surrounds the suffixed perfect. B-imperfect negative is مابيديش; with plural subjects, use the matching plural form. If objects attach, final ـش comes last.
ماديتهمش كلمة السر الجديدة.
ma-ddēthumsh kilmit is-sirr il-gidīda.
I didn't give them the new password.
السيستم مابيديش تنبيه قبل ما يقفل.
is-sīstim ma-biyiddīsh tanbīh ʾabl ma yiʾfil.
The system doesn't give a warning before it shuts down.
ماديتهولهاش عشان ماكانش بتاعي.
ma-ddētahulhāsh ʿashān ma-kānsh bitāʿi.
I didn't give it to her because it wasn't mine. (masculine theme)
The last word contains verb, theme, recipient, and negation. English word order offers no guide to that internal sequence.
Lexical extensions and participles
Productive transfer takes a theme and recipient. Conventional extensions must be learned with their nouns: يدّي فرصة “give a chance,” يدّي انطباع “give an impression,” يدّي نتيجة “produce a result,” يدّي اهتمام “give attention.” English give overlaps, but does not license every English collocation.
اللون الفاتح بيدي إحساس إن الأوضة أوسع.
il-lōn il-fātiḥ biyiddi ʾiḥsās ʾinn il-ʾōḍa ʾawsaʿ.
The light color makes the room feel larger. (literally: gives an impression)
The active-participle set مدّي، مدّية، مدّيين middi / middiyya / middiyyīn is attested, but neutral mainstream conversation normally uses finite بيدي for a current or habitual giving event. Treat the participle as a low-frequency lexical option rather than an automatic equivalent of English giving. Formal participles built from أعطى belong to MSA (formal); do not substitute them into the Cairo paradigm.
Short dialogue
أ: اديتي هالة مفاتيح المخزن؟
A: iddēti Hāla mafātīḥ il-makhzan?
A: Did you give Hala the storeroom keys? (to one woman)
ب: لأ، حاديهالها لما توصل.
B: laʾ, ḥaddīhalha lamma tōṣal.
B: No, I'll give them to her when she arrives.
Register and variation
ادّى / يدي is ordinary Cairo (informal/neutral). أعطى / يعطي is normal in formal writing, news, public speaking, and deliberate code-switching (formal MSA). ناول may mean “hand/pass” in a more specific transfer frame; it is not a universal formal replacement.
Alexandrian, Delta, Upper Egyptian, Bedouin, class-, age-, and community-linked varieties vary in vowel quality, spelling, and preferred double-object strategies (regional/social). Performance dialogue may use an elongated imperative for pleading or confrontation (performance language).
Common Mistakes
1. Keeping final ى before a perfect ending.
❌ أنا ادىت الموظف البطاقة.
Incorrect — the first-person perfect is اديت, not ادى plus ـت.
✅ أنا اديت الموظف البطاقة المؤقتة.
ʾana iddēt il-mwaẓẓaf il-biṭāʾa l-moʾaʾʾata.
I gave the employee the temporary card.
2. Reversing two attached objects.
❌ اديتلكه امبارح.
Incorrect clitic order for ‘I gave it to you’ — the theme precedes لـ + recipient.
✅ اديتهولك بعد الاجتماع.
iddētahūlak baʿd il-igtimāʿ.
I gave it to you after the meeting. (masculine theme, masculine addressee)
3. Closing negation before the objects.
❌ ماديتهوشلها.
Incorrect — final ـش closes the entire verb–theme–recipient chain.
✅ ماديتهولهاش لسه.
ma-ddētahulhāsh lissa.
I haven't given it to her yet.
4. Treating formal أعطى as an error instead of a register choice.
أعطى المدير الموظف مهلة إضافية.
ʾaʿṭā l-modīru l-mwaẓẓafa muhlatan ʾiḍāfiyyatan.
The manager granted the employee an additional period. (formal MSA; correct in its register)
✅ المدير ادى الموظف مهلة يومين كمان.
il-modīr idda l-mwaẓẓaf mohla yōmēn kamān.
The manager gave the employee two more days. (neutral Cairene)
Key Takeaways
- Memorize ادى / يدي / ادي / اديت; final-weak changes are visible before suffixes.
- A theme may be followed by لـ + recipient, or a short animate recipient may precede the full theme.
- In an all-clitic chain, use verb + theme + لـ recipient + negative ـش.
- Everyday Cairo normally uses finite بيدي, rather than the less common participle مدّي, for ongoing or habitual giving.
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