nedá

nedá is a verb form found in Czech and Slovak, functioning as the third-person singular present (or future) negation of the verb meaning “to give.” In both languages, it comes from the perfective verb for “to give” (dát in Czech, dať in Slovak). Because perfective forms in these languages often express a completed or upcoming single action, the present tense with a negation can cover a future sense as well, so nedá can mean “he does not give” or “he will not give,” depending on context.

In usage, nedá appears in statements about withholding or refusal. It commonly combines with a direct object or indirect object to specify what is not being given. For example, in Czech one might hear nedá nic to meaning “he doesn’t give anything” or, with a dative, nedá ti to meaning “he won’t give you that.” In Slovak, similar constructions exist, such as Nedá ti to or On to nedá, both conveying that someone will not grant or cannot give something.

Grammatically, nedá is the negative form of the third-person singular present of dát/dať, and it does not have a separate perfective-imperfective distinction in itself; its meaning is derived from the surrounding context and the aspect of the verb. Related forms include the affirmative dá (Czech) or dá (Slovak), and negated forms like nedávat (Czech) or nedávať (Slovak) for imperfective or ongoing giving.

See also: dát/dať, negation in Czech and Slovak, verb aspect.