2 · Sentence patterns
Giving somebody something: two objects
double-object verbs
With verbs like gěi, sòng, jiāo, wèn and gàosu, the person comes first and the thing second, both straight after the verb.
A few verbs take two objects: a person and a thing. The person comes first, the thing second: 他给我一本书, “he gave me a book”. This is the same order as English “gave me a book”, which makes the pattern easy — as long as you do not try the other English order, “gave a book to me”.
The common verbs are 给 (give), 送 (give as a present), 教 (teach), 问 (ask), 告诉 (tell), 还 (give back), 借 (lend) and 找 (give change). With 教 the pupil comes first and what is taught second: 王老师教我们汉语 — never “teaches Chinese to us”.
Verbs of handing over — 送, 寄, 借, 还, 交 — can take 给 directly after them, before the person: 我寄给他一封信. This makes the direction explicit, and with 借 it settles whether you lend (借给) or borrow.
The aspect particle 了 sticks to the verb and comes before both objects: 他给了我一本书. English speakers often put it after the person, because in their ear “gave me” is one unit; in Chinese the verb and 了 are the unit.
The form
| give | 他给我一本书。 |
| with le | 他给了我一本书。 |
| teach | 王老师教我们汉语。 |
| ask | 我想问你一个问题。 |
| verb + gěi + person | 我送给她一束花。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Person first, thing second, both directly after the verb.
朋友送我一件礼物。A friend gave me a present.
了 comes straight after the verb, before both objects.
她告诉了我一个秘密。She told me a secret.
Verbs of handing over can take 给 straight after them, before the person.
我昨天还给他一百块钱。Yesterday I paid him back a hundred yuan.
教 takes the pupil first and the subject or skill second.
爷爷教我下棋。Grandpa is teaching me chess.
A closer look
Gěi before the verb or after it
给 can also stand before the verb, with the person, as a preposition meaning “to” or “for”: 我给他寄了一封信, “I sent him a letter”. Next to 我寄给他一封信 it means the same; the version with 给 in front is very common in speech.
For some verbs the front position is the only one. English “call you”, “write to you”, “text you” become 给你打电话, 给你写信, 给你发短信. These verbs already have an object of their own — the call, the letter, the message — and there is no room for the person after them.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the verb already has its own object, as in 打电话 or 写信
the person cannot follow the verb; it goes before the verb with 给.
我晚上给你打电话。I'll call you this evening.
Only one object fits after these verbs, and the call or the letter has already taken the place.
How to spot it
- 给
- 送
- 教
- 问
- 告诉
- 还
Example sentences
妈妈给我一个苹果。Mum gave me an apple.
我想问你一件事。I'd like to ask you something.
请告诉我你的电话号码。Please tell me your phone number.
李老师教我们数学。Ms Li teaches us maths.
他借给我一辆自行车。He lent me a bike.
售货员找了我五块钱。The shop assistant gave me five yuan change.
8 more example sentences
生日那天，爸爸送我一块手表。On my birthday Dad gave me a watch.
你能借我一支笔吗？Could you lend me a pen?
他没告诉我他的地址。He didn't tell me his address.
学生们问了老师很多问题。The students asked the teacher lots of questions.
她教孩子们画画儿。She teaches the children to draw.
公司每个月给他五千块钱。The company pays him five thousand yuan a month.
我寄给爷爷一张明信片。I sent Grandpa a postcard.
这本书你看完了就还给我吧。Give me this book back when you have finished it.
Worth knowing (1)
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Jiāo and jiào
The verb “teach” is 教, first tone. In nouns such as 教室 (classroom) and 教育 (education) the same character is read in the fourth tone.
她在教室里教学生唱歌。She is teaching the pupils to sing in the classroom.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
“Gave me” feels like one unit in English, so 了 slips in after the person. But 了 belongs to the verb and has to stand right after it, before the person and the thing.
Verb, person, thing — like “give me a book” — and le stays glued to the verb.
Your turn
8 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.