As a vector, देना follows a bare lexical stem and presents the event's result as moving outward from the agent, becoming available to someone else, or being decisively brought about: बता दिया, भेज दिया, खोल दिया. It often corresponds to English particles or contextual phrases such as tell, send off, open up, or go ahead and, not to a separate act of “giving.”
Outward direction is a useful center, not a mechanical rule. बत्ती बुझा दी can have no recipient at all; it highlights the new result. Learn the general pattern first under compound verbs: lexical stem plus vector.
Bare stem + inflected देना
The lexical verb stays bare. देना carries the visible tense, mood, and agreement.
| Lexical event | Compound | Typical profile |
|---|---|---|
| बता- “tell” | बता दिया | information released |
| भेज- “send” | भेज दिया | item or person sent off |
| खोल- “open” | खोल दिया | access created |
| हटा- “remove” | हटा दिया | removal decisively accomplished |
माया ने मुझे नया पता बता दिया।
māyā ne mujhe nayā patā batā diyā.
Maya told me the new address.
चौकीदार ने मुख्य दरवाज़ा खोल दिया।
caukīdār ne mukhya darvāzā khol diyā.
The guard opened up the main door.
हमने पुरानी मेज़ बाहर हटा दी।
hamne purānī mez bāhar haṭā dī.
We moved the old table out of the way.
Do not inflect both verbs. बता दिया is the compound; बताया दिया is not its standard form.
Simple verb versus outward result
A simple perfective neutrally reports the event. Adding देना makes the resulting change or release more prominent.
आशा ने खिड़की खोली।
āśā ne khiṛkī kholī.
Asha opened the window.
आशा ने बच्चों के लिए खिड़की खोल दी।
āśā ne baccoṃ ke lie khiṛkī khol dī.
Asha opened up the window for the children.
The minimal pair keeps the opener and window constant. खोली is neutral; खोल दी profiles the new access and fits the beneficiary context. The second does not require that a physical object be handed over.
रवि ने बात बताई।
ravi ne bāt batāī.
Ravi told the matter/story.
रवि ने आख़िर सबको सच बता दिया।
ravi ne āxir sabko sac batā diyā.
Ravi finally told everyone the truth.
With information, बता दिया often suggests that concealment or delay has ended. Depending on context, the speaker may sound relieved, surprised, or critical. The vector contributes perspective, not a fixed emotion.
Other-directed does not mean “must have a recipient”
Some compounds have an explicit beneficiary or goal:
मैंने आपके लिए फ़ॉर्म भर दिया है।
maĩne āpke lie form bhar diyā hai.
I have filled out the form for you.
उसने बच्चों को घर भेज दिया।
usne baccoṃ ko ghar bhej diyā.
She sent the children home.
Others simply profile a result as discharged into the situation:
किसी ने गलियारे की बत्ती बुझा दी।
kisī ne galiyāre kī battī bujhā dī.
Someone switched off the corridor light.
तेज़ हवा ने पोस्टर गिरा दिया।
tez havā ne posṭar girā diyā.
The strong wind knocked the poster down.
In the last sentence, the causer is not a human agent and nobody benefits. देना highlights the caused result. “Other-directed” is therefore a prototype covering transfer and outward effect, not a compulsory human social meaning.
देना can add decisiveness or speaker evaluation
When the result strongly affects the situation, vector देना can present it as abrupt, decisive, or consequential.
एक गलत आदेश ने पूरी प्रक्रिया रोक दी।
ek galat ādeś ne pūrī prakriyā rok dī.
One wrong order brought the entire process to a halt.
उसने बिना पूछे मेरा नाम सूची से हटा दिया।
usne binā pūche merā nām sūcī se haṭā diyā.
He removed my name from the list without asking.
The compounds are not automatically negative. The second context makes removal objectionable; a different context could make हटा दिया helpful. Similarly, काम कर दिया can praise an impressive result, while गड़बड़ कर दी criticizes a damaging one.
तुमने तो मुश्किल काम आसान कर दिया!
tumne to muśkil kām āsān kar diyā!
You made a difficult job easy!
The exclamation evaluates the result positively. The vector itself is compatible with either evaluation.
Tense and mood appear on देना
The vector is not limited to perfective past contexts.
मैं शाम तक दस्तावेज़ भेज दूँगी।
maĩ śām tak dastāvez bhej dū̃gī.
I'll send the document by evening. (female speaker)
कृपया दरवाज़ा खोल दीजिए।
kripyā darvāzā khol dījie.
Please open the door. (respectful)
वह हर बार अपनी सीट किसी और को दे देता है।
vah har bār apnī sīṭ kisī aur ko de detā hai.
He gives his seat to someone else every time.
In भेज दूँगी, future morphology appears on the vector. खोल दीजिए is a respectful imperative. दे देता है requires care: the first दे- is the lexical verb “give,” while the second देता is the vector, so the whole predicate profiles repeatedly giving something away. Identical verb roots can occupy different layers.
Agreement and argument structure
Vector देना normally inherits the lexical verb's arguments. It does not create an extra recipient slot in every sentence. In a transitive perfective, the agent takes ने, and an unmarked object can control the vector.
समीरा ने दोनों खिड़कियाँ खोल दीं।
samīrā ne donoṃ khiṛkiyā̃ khol dīṃ.
Sameera opened both windows.
समीरा ने दोनों खिड़कियाँ खोल दी हैं।
samīrā ne donoṃ khiṛkiyā̃ khol dī haiṃ.
Sameera has opened both windows.
Feminine plural खिड़कियाँ yields standalone दीं but दी हैं before an auxiliary. When the object carries को, it cannot control agreement:
समीरा ने नई सहायिका को अंदर बुला दिया।
samīrā ne naī sahāyikā ko andar bulā diyā.
Sameera called the new assistant inside.
Marked सहायिका को gives default masculine singular दिया even though the assistant is female. The vector does not agree with ergative समीरा ने.
Negation and warnings
Under neutral event negation, speakers often choose a simple verb because there is no completed result to foreground.
मैंने अभी तक जवाब नहीं भेजा।
maĩne abhī tak javāb nahīṃ bhejā.
I haven't sent the reply yet.
The compound remains natural when the result is contrastively denied or feared:
मैंने मूल फ़ाइल मिटा नहीं दी; उसकी जगह बदल दी है।
maĩne mūl fāil miṭā nahīṃ dī; uskī jagah badal dī hai.
I didn't delete the original file; I changed its location.
यह काग़ज़ ग़लती से फेंक मत देना।
yah kāġaz ġaltī se pheṅk mat denā.
Don't accidentally throw this paper away. (informal)
फेंक मत देना warns specifically against reaching the disposal result. This is why a ban on “compound verbs under negation” would be wrong: discourse decides whether the result remains salient.
Similar-looking देना may be lexical or part of a noun–verb predicate
Not every final देना is a vector. In उसे किताब देना “give her the book,” देना is the lexical verb. In ध्यान देना “pay attention” and जवाब देना “answer,” a noun combines with lexical देना. There is no preceding verbal stem.
कृपया इस सुरक्षा-निर्देश पर ध्यान दीजिए।
kripyā is surakṣā-nirdeś par dhyān dījie.
Please pay attention to this safety instruction. (respectful)
By contrast, लिख दीजिए has verbal stem लिख- plus vector दीजिए. The surface presence of देना is not enough; inspect what precedes it.
A short dialogue: task completion and attitude
तुमने ग्राहक को समय बता दिया?
tumne grāhak ko samay batā diyā?
Did you tell the client the time? (informal)
हाँ, संदेश भेज दिया है।
hā̃, sandeś bhej diyā hai.
Yes, I've sent the message.
ठीक है, अब दरवाज़ा भी खोल दो।
ṭhīk hai, ab darvāzā bhī khol do.
All right, now open the door too. (informal)
The first speaker checks whether information has been released. The reply presents sending as accomplished and off the task list. The final imperative requests a new resulting state. These are neutral conversational uses; देना does not itself make the speech rude or polite—the pronoun, ending, intonation, and relationship do.
Common Mistakes
❌ उसने पता बताया दिया।
Incorrect — the lexical verb must be the bare stem बता- before vector देना.
✅ उसने नया पता बता दिया।
usne nayā patā batā diyā.
He or she gave the new address.
❌ नीरा ने दोनों लाइटें बंद दिया।
Incorrect — unmarked feminine plural लाइटें controls the vector.
✅ नीरा ने दोनों लाइटें बंद कर दीं।
nīrā ne donoṃ lāiṭeṃ band kar dīṃ.
Neera switched off both lights.
❌ राधा ने मोहन को बुला दी।
Incorrect — को blocks agreement, so the vector defaults to masculine singular दिया.
✅ राधा ने मोहन को बुला दिया।
rādhā ne mohan ko bulā diyā.
Radha called Mohan over.
❌ मैं कल फ़ाइल भेज दी।
Incorrect — a completed transitive compound requires ergative मैंने; feminine फ़ाइल then controls दी.
✅ मैंने कल फ़ाइल भेज दी।
maĩne kal fāil bhej dī.
I sent the file yesterday.
❌ कृपया आप दरवाज़ा खोल दिया।
Incorrect as a respectful request — दिया reports completion rather than commanding it.
✅ कृपया सामने का दरवाज़ा खोल दीजिए।
kripyā sāmne kā darvāzā khol dījie.
Please open the front door. (respectful)
Key Takeaways
Vector देना presents a lexical event as producing an outward, available, transferred, or consequential result. It does not literally add “give,” does not always require a recipient, and can express positive or negative speaker evaluation depending on context. The lexical verb stays bare, देना carries inflection, and perfective agreement follows ordinary ने, object-marking, and default-agreement rules. Negated compounds remain natural when the result is denied, contrasted, or feared.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- Compound verbs: lexical stem plus vectorA2 — Build Hindi compound verbs from a bare lexical stem and an inflected vector that profiles completion, direction, affectedness, or attitude.
- लेना as self-directed or completive vectorA2 — Use vector लेना to present a result as secured for the agent, brought under control, or carried through to completion.
- डालना as forceful completionB1 — Use vector डालना to present an event as forcefully, thoroughly, abruptly, or evaluatively carried through to its endpoint.
- Compound verbs under negationB1 — Choose between a simple negative verb and a retained vector by deciding whether the event itself or a salient result is being denied, feared, or prohibited.
- Vector selection and lexical compatibilityC1 — Choose Hindi vector verbs by event structure, participant orientation, discourse stance, and conventional lexical compatibility rather than by a substitution chart.
- Simple verb versus compound verbB2 — Choose a simple verb for a neutral event and a vector compound when the endpoint, affected participant, or speaker stance is foregrounded.