देना denā: to give | Hindi Grammar

देना means “give” and typically relates a giver, a transferred theme, and a को-marked recipient. It has irregular perfective दिया and respectful imperative दीजिए. After another verb stem it also works as a vector, often presenting an action as decisively completed or directed outward toward someone else.

Principal parts and the giving frame

Category	Form	Illustration
stem	दे-	किताब दे-
infinitive	देना	मोहन को किताब देना
habitual	देता / देती / देते	वह जवाब देती है
perfective	दिया / दी / दिए / दीं	उसने किताब दी
conjunctive	देकर	पैसे देकर

The recipient normally takes को: रीना को किताब देना. The thing given is usually unmarked and can control perfective agreement. English word order alone does not identify these roles.

दादी बच्चों को हर रविवार कहानी सुनाती हैं और मिठाई देती हैं।

dādī baccoṃ ko har ravivār kahānī sunātī haiṃ aur miṭhāī detī haiṃ.

Grandmother tells the children a story and gives them sweets every Sunday. (honorific)

क्या आप मुझे अपना ईमेल पता दे सकते हैं?

kyā āp mujhe apnā īmel patā de sakte haiṃ?

Could you give me your email address?

💡

In उसने मुझे किताब दी, मुझे is the recipient and feminine किताब controls दी. The giver is ने-marked and cannot control perfective agreement.

Habitual and progressive

Subject	Habitual present	Progressive present
मैं, masculine	देता हूँ	दे रहा हूँ
मैं, feminine	देती हूँ	दे रही हूँ
वह, masculine	देता है	दे रहा है
वह, feminine	देती है	दे रही है
हम / आप / वे, masculine or mixed	देते हैं	दे रहे हैं
हम / वे, all feminine	देती हैं	दे रही हैं

मैं अभी ग्राहक को पूरी जानकारी दे रही हूँ।

maĩ abhī grāhak ko pūrī jānkārī de rahī hū̃.

I am giving the customer all the information now. (female speaker)

The habitual/progressive participle agrees with the unmarked subject. This differs from the ergative perfective described next.

Irregular perfective and agreement

In a canonical perfective, the giver takes ने. The unmarked theme controls दिया/दी/दिए/दीं. If the theme is also marked with को, the verb defaults to masculine singular दिया.

अमित ने पड़ोसी को अतिरिक्त चाबी दी।

amit ne paṛosī ko atirikt cābī dī.

Amit gave the neighbor an extra key.

संस्था ने विजेताओं को तीन पुरस्कार दिए।

saṃsthā ne vijetāoṃ ko tīn puraskār die.

The organization gave the winners three prizes.

मैंने उस घायल कुत्ते को पानी दिया।

maĩne us ghāyal kutte ko pānī diyā.

I gave that injured dog water.

The recipient is को-marked in all three; feminine चाबी, plural पुरस्कार, and masculine पानी determine the visible perfective form.

Future, subjunctive, and imperative

Person	Subjunctive	Future masculine	Future feminine
मैं	दूँ	दूँगा	दूँगी
तुम	दो	दोगे	दोगी
वह / यह	दे	देगा	देगी
हम / आप / वे / ये	दें	देंगे	देंगी

मैं आपको शाम तक पक्का जवाब दूँगा।

maĩ āpko śām tak pakkā javāb dū̃gā.

I'll give you a definite answer by this evening. (male speaker)

अगर वह पैसे दे, तो रसीद ज़रूर देना।

agar vah paise de, to rasīd zarūr denā.

If he or she pays, be sure to give a receipt. (familiar reminder)

Imperatives are intimate दे, familiar दो, and respectful दीजिए. दें can be a respectful subjunctive/jussive in appropriate contexts, but it is not the standard direct polite request form taught first.

कृपया मुझे एक मिनट दीजिए।

kripyā mujhe ek minaṭ dījie.

Please give me a minute.

Participles, causative, and collocations

Common non-finite forms are देता, दिया, देते हुए, देकर, oblique देने, and देने वाला.

The causative/arranged-transfer verb is commonly दिलाना: it can mean “get/obtain for someone,” “have something given,” or “cause someone to receive.” Its argument frame must be read from context rather than translated as a mechanical “make give.”

एजेंट ने उसे नई नौकरी दिलाई।

ejeṇṭ ne use naī naukrī dilāī.

The agent got them a new job.

High-frequency collocations include जवाब देना, सलाह देना, ध्यान देना, अनुमति देना, साथ देना, and दिखाई देना. Their noun or non-finite complement contributes the lexical meaning.

देना as a vector

After a bare verb stem, देना can present the event as completed and outwardly directed, often affecting another participant: भेज देना, बता देना, खोल देना. Its subject agreement and tense appear on देना.

मैंने पते की तस्वीर खींचकर उसे भेज दी।

maĩne pate kī tasvīr khīñckar use bhej dī.

I took a picture of the address and sent it to them.

Feminine तस्वीर controls compound perfective भेज दी. Simple भेजी and compound भेज दी are both grammatical, but the latter more strongly packages the sending as accomplished. The vector is a lexical-aspectual choice, not obligatory emphasis. Compare it with actor-oriented लेना in the देना versus लेना vector guide.

An idiomatic collocation is जान दे देना “sacrifice one's life,” whose force cannot be predicted from English give alone.

Common Mistakes

❌ मैंने रीना एक किताब दी।

Incorrect in the neutral transfer frame — the recipient requires को.

✅ मैंने रीना को एक किताब दी।

maĩne rīnā ko ek kitāb dī.

I gave Reena a book.

❌ सीमा ने मुझे चाबी दिया।

Incorrect — unmarked feminine चाबी controls दी.

✅ सीमा ने मुझे चाबी दी।

sīmā ne mujhe cābī dī.

Seema gave me the key.

❌ मैं कल जवाब देऊँगा।

Incorrect — first-person future uses दूँगा.

✅ मैं कल जवाब दूँगा।

maĩ kal javāb dū̃gā.

I'll give an answer tomorrow. (male speaker)

❌ कृपया मुझे पानी देइए।

Incorrect — the established respectful imperative is दीजिए.

✅ कृपया मुझे पानी दीजिए।

kripyā mujhe pānī dījie.

Please give me some water.

Key Takeaways

देना has stem दे-, perfective दिया, first-person दूँ, and polite imperative दीजिए. Its neutral lexical frame marks the recipient with को, while an unmarked theme can control perfective agreement. As a vector, देना presents a lexically compatible action as completed and often outwardly oriented; as दिलाना, it expresses arranged transfer or procurement.

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