Imperfective: дава́ти — "to give, to be giving (repeatedly / as a process)" Perfective: да́ти — "to give (once, completely)" Type: an aspect pair where the imperfective is a regular -ва- verb and the perfective is athematic (one of only four such verbs in the language)
дава́ти / да́ти is the verb of handing things over, but it is also a piece of grammatical scaffolding: да́ти + infinitive is one of the standard ways to say "let / allow," and дава́й / дава́йте is the everyday "let's…" particle. The pair is worth a full page for one reason above all: the perfective да́ти is athematic. Where almost every Ukrainian verb inserts a theme vowel (-е- or -и-) between stem and ending, да́ти does not — it bolts the personal endings straight onto the root, giving the unusual set дам, даси́, дасть, дамо́, дасте́, даду́ть. These look like a present tense but mean the future, because да́ти is perfective. Master this paradigm and you have also cracked its three siblings — їсти, розпові́сти, and the prefixed forms of both. Stress is marked on every form.
Present tense — дава́ти (imperfective only)
Only the imperfective дава́ти has a present tense. It belongs to the productive -ва- type: the -ва- of the infinitive drops out and the endings attach to the bare root да-, giving the contracted даю́, дає́ш… with end stress throughout.
| Person | дава́ти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | даю́ | I give / am giving |
| ти | дає́ш | you give (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | дає́ | he / she / it gives |
| ми | даємо́ | we give |
| ви | даєте́ | you give (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | даю́ть | they give |
The present means a repeated, habitual or ongoing giving: Він щодня́ дає́ мені́ пора́ди "He gives me advice every day." For a single completed handover, you switch to the perfective да́ти — which has no present.
Ця я́блуня щоро́ку дає́ бага́то плоді́в.
This apple tree gives a lot of fruit every year. — habitual present дає́.
Батьки́ за́вжди даю́ть ді́тям забага́то соло́дощів.
Parents always give children too many sweets. — repeated giving, plural даю́ть; recipient dative ді́тям.
Future tense — да́ти (perfective, athematic) vs дава́ти (imperfective)
Here is the heart of the page. The perfective да́ти has no present at all; its conjugated forms are future in meaning, and they are athematic — there is no -е-/-и- theme vowel. Learn them as a closed set.
| Person | Perfective simple future (да́ти, athematic) | Imperfective analytic (бу́ду…) | Imperfective synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | дам | бу́ду дава́ти | дава́тиму |
| ти | даси́ | бу́деш дава́ти | дава́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | дасть | бу́де дава́ти | дава́тиме |
| ми | дамо́ | бу́демо дава́ти | дава́тимемо |
| ви | дасте́ | бу́дете дава́ти | дава́тимете |
| вони́ | даду́ть | бу́дуть дава́ти | дава́тимуть |
Note the oddities: 3sg дасть ends in -сть (not the usual -е or -ить), and 3pl is даду́ть with an inserted -д-. These are inherited athematic endings, the same ones you will meet in the irregular present of ї́сти. The imperfective futures (бу́ду дава́ти, дава́тиму) describe a future habit — "I will be giving / will keep giving."
За́втра я дам тобі́ відпові́дь, обіця́ю.
I'll give you an answer tomorrow, I promise. — perfective дам = future, single act; recipient dative тобі́.
Ду́маю, лі́кар дасть нам реце́пт уже́ сього́дні.
I think the doctor will give us a prescription today already. — 3sg дасть, future of да́ти.
Вони́ ска́жуть, що даду́ть ві́дповідь пі́сля нара́ди.
They'll say they'll give an answer after the meeting. — 3pl даду́ть with the inserted -д-.
Past tense — дав / дала́ / дало́ / дали́
The past is regular for both aspects, off the stems да- (perfective) and дава́- (imperfective), with the gendered -в / -ла / -ло / -ли endings. The perfective past dominates everyday speech — "I gave it (and it's done)."
| Gender / number | Perfective да́ти | Imperfective дава́ти |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | дав | дава́в |
| feminine | дала́ | дава́ла |
| neuter | дало́ | дава́ло |
| plural | дали́ | дава́ли |
Watch the stress in the perfective past: the masculine дав is a stressed monosyllable, but the feminine, neuter and plural shift stress to the ending — дала́, дало́, дали́. The imperfective дава́в keeps its stress on the -ва- throughout.
Я вже дав йому́ гро́ші — більше не дам.
I already gave him the money — I won't give any more. — perfective past дав + future negation не дам.
Вона́ дала́ мені́ свій но́мер телефо́ну.
She gave me her phone number. — feminine дала́, ending-stressed; recipient dative мені́.
Imperative — дай vs дава́й
Both aspects form imperatives, and they are not interchangeable. The perfective дай / да́йте asks for a single, definite handover ("give me the book"). The imperfective дава́й / дава́йте has two lives: a literal "keep giving / go on giving," and — far more importantly — the grammaticalised "let's…" particle that introduces a joint suggestion.
| Addressee | Perfective да́ти | Imperfective дава́ти |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | дай | дава́й |
| ви (formal / plural) | да́йте | дава́йте |
| 3rd person (let him/them) | хай / неха́й дасть | хай / неха́й дає́ |
Дай, будь ла́ска, ще одну́ ча́шку ча́ю.
Give me one more cup of tea, please. — perfective imperative дай, a single request.
Дава́йте зустрі́немося за́втра о деся́тій.
Let's meet tomorrow at ten. — дава́йте as the 'let's…' particle + perfective verb.
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | да́ти / дава́ти |
|---|---|
| passive past participle (pf.) | да́ний "given" |
| imperfective verbal adverb | даю́чи "(while) giving" |
| perfective verbal adverb | да́вши "having given" |
The passive participle да́ний is everyday — it is also the ordinary adjective/pronoun "the given (one), this particular" (у да́ному ви́падку "in this case"). The verbal adverbs are (literary / written).
Key uses & case government
1. да́ти + accusative thing + dative recipient
The core frame: the thing given is the direct object in the accusative, the recipient is in the dative. Because both roles are case-marked, order is free and you can drop either one when it's clear from context. See dative uses and the verb government overview.
Пода́руй цю кни́жку сестрі́ — їй сподо́бається.
Give this book to your sister (as a present) — she'll like it. — accusative кни́жку + dative сестрі́.
2. да́ти + infinitive — "let / allow"
да́ти + infinitive means "let someone do something" — Дай мені́ поду́мати "Let me think." Here мені́ is the dative of the person allowed, and the infinitive is the permitted action. This is one of the most natural everyday uses and trips up English speakers who reach for дозволя́ти.
Не дава́й їм перебива́ти тебе́ — догово́рюй до кінця́.
Don't let them interrupt you — finish what you're saying. — дава́ти + infinitive 'let / allow', negated.
3. дава́й + 1st-person future = a softened "let's"
Beyond дава́й + infinitive, дава́й pairs with a perfective 1pl future for a brisk joint proposal: Дава́й піде́мо "Let's go." This overlaps with the synthetic first-person hortative (піді́мо).
Дава́й я тобі́ допоможу́ — само́му ва́жко не́сти.
Let me help you — it's hard to carry on your own. — дава́й + 1sg future as a friendly offer.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я даю́ тобі́ відпові́дь за́втра.
Aspect error — a single completed handover in the future needs the PERFECTIVE: Я дам тобі́ відпові́дь за́втра. The present даю́ means a habit, not a one-off future.
✅ Я дам тобі́ відпові́дь за́втра.
I'll give you an answer tomorrow.
❌ Дай кни́жку дру́га.
Case error — the recipient is the DATIVE, not the genitive: Дай кни́жку дру́гові. (дру́га would mean 'a friend's book'.)
✅ Дай кни́жку дру́гові.
Give the book to a friend.
❌ Вони́ даю́ть мені́ відпові́дь за́втра.
Wrong form for the perfective future — да́ти is athematic: the 3pl future is даду́ть, not даю́ть (which is the imperfective present). Вони́ даду́ть мені́ відпові́дь за́втра.
✅ Вони́ даду́ть мені́ відпові́дь за́втра.
They'll give me an answer tomorrow.
❌ Я буду дати тобі́ кни́жку.
Aspect/future error — the perfective да́ти already forms its own future (дам); бу́ду takes only an imperfective infinitive. Use Я дам тобі́ кни́жку (or Я бу́ду дава́ти…).
✅ Я дам тобі́ кни́жку.
I'll give you the book.
❌ Дава́й мені́ ру́чку, бу́дь ла́ска.
Aspect-in-imperative error — for a single 'hand me that pen' you want the perfective дай, not the imperfective дава́й (which suggests 'keep giving'): Дай мені́ ру́чку, будь ла́ска.
✅ Дай мені́ ру́чку, будь ла́ска.
Give me the pen, please.
Key Takeaways
- Two aspects, two jobs: imperfective дава́ти = repeated/ongoing giving (present даю́, дає́ш…); perfective да́ти = a single completed gift.
- да́ти is athematic: дам / даси́ / дасть / дамо́ / дасте́ / даду́ть — these are the future, not the present (note дасть and даду́ть).
- Government: thing given = accusative, recipient = dative (да́ти кни́жку дру́гові); word order is free.
- Past: дав / дала́ / дало́ / дали́ — masculine дав is a stressed monosyllable, the rest are ending-stressed.
- Imperatives split by aspect: дай / да́йте for a single handover; дава́й / дава́йте as the "let's…" particle and "let / allow."
- да́ти + infinitive = "let / allow" (Дай мені́ поду́мати), a high-frequency construction English speakers underuse.
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