देना as a Helper Verb

Compound Verbs with देना

Level 3Sounds Like dēnā sahāyaka kriyā kē rūpa mēṁ

Stem plus देना points an action toward someone else or shows it is done: लिख दो, उसने बता दिया.

How It Works

With देना, the action usually goes out from the doer, toward another person. It also shows that the action is done fully.

For someone else: मेरा नाम भी लिख दीजिए (Please write my name down too), उसने मुझे सब कुछ बता दिया (She told me everything).
Done fully: मैंने खिड़की खोल दी (I opened the window).

The main verb stays a bare stem: लिख, बता, खोल. देना takes the endings, including its irregular past forms: दिया, दी, दिए.

Compare देना with लेना, which points the action back toward the doer:

लेना	देना
लिख लो (write it down for yourself)	लिख दो (write it for someone)
रख लो (keep it)	रख दो (put it down)

Requests with देना sound helpful and friendly: पानी दे दो (give me some water), दरवाज़ा बंद कर दीजिए (please close the door).

Do not confuse this with -ने देना, which means let: मुझे जाने दो (Let me go).

मैंने खिड़की खोल दी।
I opened the window.
दी agrees with feminine खिड़की.
आप मेरा नाम भी लिख दीजिए।
Please write my name down too.
लिख stays a stem, and दीजिए makes a polite request.
रीना ने बच्चों को पूरी बात समझा दी।
Reena explained the whole thing to the children.
दी agrees with feminine बात; बच्चों को are the people she explained it to.
उसने मुझे सब कुछ बता दिया।
She told me everything.
देना points the telling toward me.
मुझे एक गिलास पानी दे दो।
Give me a glass of water.
दे दो makes the request sound natural and friendly.

Using the past form before देना.
उसने सब बताया दिया।
उसने सब बता दिया।
Only देना changes. बताना appears as the bare stem बता.

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

देना as a Helper VerbLevel 3Compound Verbs with देना

Compounds with देना mirror those with लेना.

Patterns that build on this one.

देना

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