देना पड़ना means “have to give.” It is not one simple conjugated verb: lexical देना remains an infinitive, while पड़ना carries aspect, tense, and agreement for externally imposed necessity. The person under the obligation normally takes को, so English subject-centered agreement does not predict the Hindi form.
The inner verb has stem दे- and the irregular infinitive देना; the outer necessity verb has stem पड़-. In this construction, only forms of the outer verb carry finite tense and aspect.
The nested structure
The basic frame is obligor-को + recipient-को + theme + देना + पड़ना. Either recipient or theme can be omitted when context supplies it.
मुझे मकान-मालिक को दो महीने की जमा राशि देनी पड़ेगी।
mujhe makān-mālik ko do mahīne kī jamā rāśi denī paṛegī.
I will have to give the landlord a two-month deposit.
सभी कर्मचारियों को प्रवेश पर पहचान-पत्र की एक कॉपी देनी पड़ेगी।
sabhī karmacāriyoṃ ko praveś par pahcān-patr kī ek kopī denī paṛegī.
All employees will have to provide a copy of their identification at the entrance.
The first को marks the person obliged; a second को can mark the recipient of giving. These identical forms express different roles because their position and meaning differ.
Agreement with the infinitival event
When an unmarked object of देना is eligible, the infinitive can agree with it, and पड़ना follows that gender and number: किताब देनी पड़ी, किताबें देनी पड़ीं, पैसे देने पड़े. If there is no eligible object, the construction uses masculine singular देना पड़ा.
हमें प्रवेश पर अपनी चाबियाँ देनी पड़ीं।
hameṃ praveś par apnī cābiyā̃ denī paṛīṃ.
We had to hand over our keys at the entrance.
रवि को अधिकारी को लिखित जवाब देना पड़ा।
ravi ko adhikārī ko likhit javāb denā paṛā.
Ravi had to give the officer a written answer.
Feminine plural चाबियाँ produces देनी पड़ीं. Masculine singular जवाब produces देना पड़ा. Neither the first-person obligor हमें nor the masculine person रवि controls agreement.
Habitual, progressive, and perfective necessity
| Viewpoint | Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| habitual | देना पड़ता है | देनी पड़ती है | देने पड़ते हैं | देनी पड़ती हैं |
| progressive | देना पड़ रहा है | देनी पड़ रही है | देने पड़ रहे हैं | देनी पड़ रही हैं |
| perfective | देना पड़ा | देनी पड़ी | देने पड़े | देनी पड़ीं |
Habitual forms describe recurring requirements. Progressive forms present pressure currently in force. Perfective forms report one obligation that actually arose.
इस नौकरी में मुझे हर महीने दो रिपोर्टें देनी पड़ती हैं।
is naukrī meṃ mujhe har mahīne do riporṭeṃ denī paṛtī haiṃ.
In this job, I have to submit two reports every month.
सिस्टम बंद है, इसलिए हमें रकम नकद देनी पड़ रही है।
sisṭam band hai, islie hameṃ rakam nakad denī paṛ rahī hai.
The system is down, so we are having to pay the amount in cash.
Because the construction is a necessity predicate headed by पड़ना, it takes no perfective ने for the obligor. Compare simple transitive मैंने पैसे दिए with necessity मुझे पैसे देने पड़े.
The wider system of tense, negation, and agreement is mapped on external necessity with पड़ना.
Future and subjunctive forms
Future and subjunctive inflection appears on पड़ना and continues to agree with the infinitival event rather than grammatical person.
| Agreement | Subjunctive | Future |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | देना पड़े | देना पड़ेगा |
| feminine singular | देनी पड़े | देनी पड़ेगी |
| masculine plural | देने पड़ें | देने पड़ेंगे |
| feminine plural | देनी पड़ें | देनी पड़ेंगी |
शायद हमें अतिरिक्त दस्तावेज़ देने पड़ें।
śāyad hameṃ atirikt dastāvez dene paṛeṃ.
We may have to provide additional documents.
अगर तारीख़ बदली, तो मुझे नई सूचना देनी पड़ेगी।
agar tārīx badlī, to mujhe naī sūcnā denī paṛegī.
If the date changes, I will have to issue a new notice.
There are no first-, second-, and third-person versions of पड़ेगा in this construction. Person is encoded in the को-marked obligor, while agreement is impersonal/event-centered.
Negation, questions, and non-finite packaging
नहीं देना पड़ेगा means “will not have to give,” absence of necessity; it does not prohibit giving. For prohibition use मत देना or another negative command.
फ़ॉर्म ऑनलाइन भरें तो आपको शुल्क नहीं देना पड़ेगा।
form onlāin bhareṃ to āpko śulk nahīṃ denā paṛegā.
If you complete the form online, you won't have to pay a fee.
क्या हमें मूल काग़ज़ भी देने पड़ेंगे?
kyā hameṃ mūl kāġaz bhī dene paṛeṅge?
Will we have to submit the original papers too?
The full unit can itself be nominalized in heavier prose: इतना पैसा देना पड़ना आसान नहीं था “Having to pay so much money was not easy.” It also forms a prospective relative phrase such as अगले महीने देना पड़ने वाला शुल्क “the fee that will have to be paid next month.” Direct imperatives of the necessity unit are pragmatically unavailable: one commands पैसे दो, not पैसे देने पड़ो. To impose an obligation, Hindi uses देना होगा, देना पड़ेगा, or मजबूर करना.
Compound behavior and lexical extensions
देना can contain a compound before the necessity layer: लौटा देना पड़ना “have to return,” जमा कर देना पड़ना “have to submit completely.” Each added verb contributes its own event layer, while final पड़ना still carries outer agreement and tense.
गलत भुगतान मिलने पर हमें पूरी राशि लौटा देनी पड़ी।
galat bhugtān milne par hameṃ pūrī rāśi lauṭā denī paṛī.
After receiving the wrong payment, we had to return the full amount.
There is no productive causative of देना पड़ना as a whole. देना पड़वाना is not the neutral way to say “make someone pay/give”; use किसी को देने पर मजबूर करना, भुगतान करवाना, or a more specific lexical causative.
The expression कीमत चुकानी पड़ना “have to pay the price” can be literal or idiomatic: suffer the consequences.
लापरवाही की कीमत पूरी टीम को चुकानी पड़ी।
lāparvāhī kī kīmat pūrī ṭīm ko cukānī paṛī.
The whole team had to pay the price for the carelessness.
Common Mistakes
❌ मैंने पैसे देने पड़े।
Incorrect — the obligor takes को, not perfective ने.
✅ मुझे पैसे देने पड़े।
mujhe paise dene paṛe.
I had to pay the money.
❌ उसे दो किताबें देना पड़ा।
Incorrect — feminine plural किताबें requires देनी पड़ीं.
✅ उसे दो किताबें देनी पड़ीं।
use do kitābeṃ denī paṛīṃ.
She had to give two books.
❌ हम कल शुल्क देंगे पड़ेंगे।
Incorrect — देना stays infinitival and future inflection appears on पड़ना.
✅ हमें कल शुल्क देना पड़ेगा।
hameṃ kal śulk denā paṛegā.
We will have to pay the fee tomorrow.
❌ आपको यह मत देना पड़ेगा।
Incorrect — मत marks commands, not absence of necessity.
✅ आपको यह नहीं देना पड़ेगा।
āpko yah nahīṃ denā paṛegā.
You won't have to give this.
Key Takeaways
देना पड़ना nests lexical giving inside external necessity. The obligor takes को, देना remains an infinitive, and पड़ना bears aspect and tense. Eligible themes control both infinitival and outer agreement; no ने appears. Negative नहीं removes the requirement, and the construction has no ordinary imperative or unitary causative.
Related Topics
- देना denā: to giveA1 — Reference देना as a ditransitive verb and completion-oriented vector, including irregular दिया and respectful दीजिए.
- पड़ना paṛnā: to fall and have toA2 — Reference पड़ना across falling, situated states, external necessity, sudden-onset compounds, and its lexical transitive counterparts.
- पड़ना external necessityB1 — Use infinitive plus पड़ना when circumstances impose an action, with dative obligors and agreement controlled by the infinitive phrase.
- चाहिए versus पड़ना versus होनाB1 — Choose चाहिए for advice or norms, infinitive plus होना for a settled agenda, and infinitive plus पड़ना for necessity imposed by circumstances.
- Possessive and necessity predicatesB1 — Distinguish Hindi possession, need, advice, obligation, and external necessity through their case frames and agreement controllers.
- Default masculine singular agreementA2 — Use default masculine singular perfective morphology when case marking leaves no eligible agreement controller, without mistaking default for actor agreement.