Antaa ("to give") is a Type 1 verb, the largest conjugation class, and it is the textbook example of nt ↔ nn gradation. The strong grade nt shows up when the syllable it starts is open (the 3rd persons and the infinitive: antaa, antavat), and the weak grade nn takes over when the syllable closes (every other personal form: annan, annat, annamme). Watch the two grades trade places down each column — once you see the pattern, its gradation mirror ottaa (tt ↔ t) becomes free.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present 1sg | Present 3sg | Past 3sg | Past participle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| antaa | annan | antaa | antoi | antanut |
Core conjugation
| Person | Present | Past | Conditional | Perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minä | annan | annoin | antaisin | olen antanut |
| sinä | annat | annoit | antaisit | olet antanut |
| hän | antaa | antoi | antaisi | on antanut |
| me | annamme | annoimme | antaisimme | olemme antaneet |
| te | annatte | annoitte | antaisitte | olette antaneet |
| he | antavat | antoivat | antaisivat | ovat antaneet |
| negative | en anna | en antanut | en antaisi | en ole antanut |
Two things are worth flagging. First, the weak grade nn appears in every present personal form except the 3rd persons (annan but antaa, antavat). Second, the past is antoi, not *antai: two-syllable -aa verbs change the stem a to o before the past -i- (antaa → antoi), and gradation still applies where the syllable closes (annoin). In the conditional the -isi- keeps every syllable open, so the strong grade returns throughout: antaisin.
The imperative is anna! (2sg, weak grade) and antakaa! (2pl, strong); negative älä anna / älkää antako. The passive drops the stem a to e: present annetaan, past annettiin, perfect on annettu, conditional annettaisiin; negatives ei anneta, ei annettu.
Annatko minulle sen kynän, joka on pöydällä?
Will you give me that pen that's on the table?
Isoäiti antoi meille aina karkkia salaa.
Grandma always used to give us candy in secret.
Rection: to whom, and what
Antaa is a three-part verb: someone gives something (the object) to someone (the recipient). Finnish marks the recipient with the allative case -lle ("onto/to"), not a preposition, and the object with its usual total-or-partitive choice.
Annoin lapselle omenan.
I gave the child an apple.
Anna koiralle vettä, se on janoinen.
Give the dog some water, it's thirsty.
Notice the object cases: omenan is total (one whole apple, handed over), while vettä is partitive because water is a mass with no set endpoint. The recipient stays in the allative either way: lapselle, koiralle. Pronoun recipients work the same: minulle, sinulle, hänelle, meille, teille, heille.
Annatteko meille vielä viisi minuuttia aikaa?
Will you give us five more minutes?
Idioms and useful collocations
Several extremely common expressions are built on antaa plus a fixed noun:
Anna anteeksi, en tarkoittanut sitä noin.
Forgive me, I didn't mean it like that.
En anna periksi näin helpolla.
I won't give up this easily.
Other set phrases: antaa palautetta ("give feedback"), antaa lupa ("give permission"), antaa lahja ("give a gift"), and the colloquial antaa mennä! (informal, "go for it! / let it rip!"). The reflexive-flavoured antaa olla means "leave it be / never mind" — anna olla, ei se haittaa ("never mind, it doesn't matter").
Common Mistakes
❌ Minä antan sinulle avaimen.
Incorrect — the 1sg is the weak grade annan, not *antan (missing nt→nn).
✅ Minä annan sinulle avaimen.
I'll give you the key.
❌ Hän antai minulle vinkin eilen.
Incorrect — the past is antoi, not *antai; the stem a becomes o.
✅ Hän antoi minulle vinkin eilen.
He gave me a tip yesterday.
❌ Annoin lahjan lapselle varten.
Incorrect — the recipient takes the allative -lle by itself; there is no preposition.
✅ Annoin lahjan lapselle.
I gave the gift to the child.
❌ He antaa palautetta joka viikko.
Incorrect — 'he' (they) is antavat; antaa is 3sg only.
✅ He antavat palautetta joka viikko.
They give feedback every week.
Key Takeaways
- nt ↔ nn gradation: strong antaa, antavat (open syllable) vs weak annan, annat, annamme, annatte (closed).
- Past antoi (stem a → o), with the weak grade where the syllable closes (annoin). Conditional keeps strong throughout: antaisin.
- The recipient is the bare allative -lle (lapselle, minulle) — no preposition.
- Imperative anna! is weak; antakaa! is strong. Passive is annetaan / annettiin / annettu.
Now practice Finnish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Finnish→Related Topics
- ottaa ('to take')A2 — Full conjugation of ottaa (to take), a Type 1 verb with tt↔t gradation, its past otti, and the many idioms built on it.
- Verb Type 1: -Va Verbs (puhua, ostaa)A1 — The largest class: drop the final -a/-ä for the stem, add endings, double the vowel in the third person; consonant gradation weakens four of six forms.
- Assimilation Types: nk→ng, nt→nn, lt→ll, rt→rrA2 — The cluster gradations where a nasal or liquid swallows the following stop, leaving a geminate: Helsinki→Helsingin, ranta→rannan, silta→sillan, parta→parran.
- Allative -lle: 'onto, to'A1 — The allative -lle (never harmonizes) means motion onto a surface or, crucially, to a recipient — pöydälle, torille, annan sen äidille, soitan sinulle.
- When -i- Changes the Stem: otti, antoi, halusiB2 — The past -i- reshapes a/ä stems: antoi (a→o) vs otti (a drops) vs tiesi/halusi (t→s). The full table of stem-vowel outcomes.