English lets you say "give me a book" — two nouns, "me" and "a book," lined up straight after the verb with nothing between them. That double-object pattern feels so natural you barely notice it, and the good news is that Chinese has the same trick with the same word order: recipient first, thing second, no preposition in between. 给我一本书 is, slot for slot, "give me a book." The catch is that Chinese only grants this privilege to a small, fixed club of verbs, and it is strict about what you may not insert. Learn the club and the two rules, and a very common everyday pattern — giving, teaching, telling, asking, lending — clicks into place.
The frame: Verb + Recipient + Thing
The pattern is V + Indirect Object (recipient) + Direct Object (thing). The indirect object is the person who receives; the direct object is what they receive. Nothing separates them.
| Verb | Indirect object (who) | Direct object (what) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 给 (gěi) | 我 (wǒ) | 一本书 (yì běn shū) | give me a book |
| 教 (jiāo) | 我们 (wǒmen) | 中文 (Zhōngwén) | teach us Chinese |
| 告诉 (gàosu) | 你 (nǐ) | 一件事 (yí jiàn shì) | tell you something |
| 送 (sòng) | 他 (tā) | 一件礼物 (yí jiàn lǐwù) | give him a present |
请给我一杯水。
qǐng gěi wǒ yì bēi shuǐ
Please give me a glass of water. (informal) — 我 (recipient) before 一杯水 (thing), no preposition.
王老师教我们数学。
Wáng lǎoshī jiāo wǒmen shùxué
Mr. Wang teaches us math. — 我们 (who) then 数学 (what).
The club: which verbs allow two objects
You cannot take just any verb and pour two objects after it. The double-object frame is licensed by a limited set whose meaning is inherently transfer to a recipient: giving, teaching, telling, asking. The high-frequency members:
| Verb | Gloss | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 给 (gěi) | give | 给我一本书 |
| 送 (sòng) | give (as a gift) | 送他一件礼物 |
| 教 (jiāo) | teach | 教我们中文 |
| 告诉 (gàosu) | tell | 告诉你一件事 |
| 问 (wèn) | ask | 问老师一个问题 |
| 还 (huán) | return, pay back | 还我钱 |
| 借 (jiè) | lend / borrow | 借我一支笔 |
| 递 (dì) | hand, pass | 递我一张纸 |
我告诉你一个秘密。
wǒ gàosu nǐ yí ge mìmì
I'll tell you a secret. — 告诉 takes recipient 你 then content 一个秘密.
我想问你一个问题。
wǒ xiǎng wèn nǐ yí ge wèntí
I'd like to ask you a question. — 问 lines up 你 (asked) then 一个问题 (thing asked).
能借我一支笔吗？
néng jiè wǒ yì zhī bǐ ma
Can you lend me a pen? — 借 is double-object; 我 (recipient) then 一支笔.
Why no preposition — and what NOT to add
In English, "give the book to me" is a live alternative to "give me the book." Chinese keeps that alternative too, but it is a different structure — V + Thing + 给 + Recipient (送礼物给他 "give a present to him") — not something you build by squeezing 给 into the double-object frame. Inside the plain two-object frame, the recipient needs no marker at all, and for verbs like 告诉, 问, and 教, adding 给 is simply ungrammatical.
他送了我一束花。
tā sòng le wǒ yí shù huā
He gave me a bunch of flowers. — bare double object; 我 needs no 给.
我告诉你一件事。
wǒ gàosu nǐ yí jiàn shì
Let me tell you something. — 告诉 rejects 给 (never 告诉给你).
Verbs whose meaning already includes physical handing-over — 送, 借, 还, 递, 卖 — do also accept the 给-marked form (送给他, 借给我, 还给我). But the "speech" verbs 告诉, 问, 教 do not. This split is the source of most double-object errors, so treat "may I add 给?" as a per-verb fact, not a general rule.
Verbs that look double-object but aren't
Many transfer-flavored English verbs — "buy me a coffee," "cook me dinner," "book me a room" — do not map onto a Chinese double-object verb, because the beneficiary is a for-whom, not a receiver built into the verb. 买 (buy) is the classic trap: 买我一个蛋糕 does not mean "buy me a cake"; if anything it reads as "buy a cake from me." To say the beneficiary meaning you front the recipient with 给: 给我买一个蛋糕.
他给我买了一个蛋糕。
tā gěi wǒ mǎi le yí ge dàngāo
He bought me a cake. — 买 is not double-object; the beneficiary rides on 给我 before the verb.
When you are unsure whether a verb is in the club, this 给 + recipient + verb detour is always available and always safe. More on giving verbs generally is on the giving verbs page, and the two faces of 给 are compared under 给 as a double-object verb.
Common Mistakes
1. Reversing recipient and thing. The person receiving always comes first.
❌ 给一本书我。
Incorrect — recipient before thing: 给我一本书.
✅ 给我一本书。
gěi wǒ yì běn shū
Give me a book. — 我 (recipient) then 一本书 (thing).
2. Inserting 给 after a speech verb. 告诉, 问, 教 take a bare recipient.
❌ 我告诉给你一件事。
Incorrect — 告诉 rejects 给: 我告诉你一件事.
✅ 我告诉你一件事。
wǒ gàosu nǐ yí jiàn shì
I'll tell you something. — no 给 with 告诉.
3. Adding 给 after 问. Same trap, different verb.
❌ 我问给老师一个问题。
Incorrect — drop 给: 我问老师一个问题.
✅ 我问老师一个问题。
wǒ wèn lǎoshī yí ge wèntí
I'll ask the teacher a question. — 问 takes a bare recipient.
4. Forcing "buy me…" into the double-object frame. 买 is not a double-object verb; use 给.
❌ 他买我一个蛋糕。
Misleading — this reads 'bought a cake from me'; for the beneficiary use: 他给我买了一个蛋糕.
✅ 他给我买了一个蛋糕。
tā gěi wǒ mǎi le yí ge dàngāo
He bought me a cake. — beneficiary on 给我, not stacked after 买.
Key Takeaways
- A small club of verbs takes two objects in a row: V + recipient + thing, with no preposition — 给我一本书, 教我们中文, 告诉你一件事.
- The order is fixed recipient-before-thing, just like English "give me a book," never "give a book me."
- Members include 给, 送, 教, 告诉, 问, 还, 借, 递. Learn them as a set — arbitrary verbs are not admitted.
- Don't add 给 to the speech verbs 告诉 / 问 / 教. Handing-over verbs (送, 借, 还, 递) also allow a separate 给-form (送给他), but that is a different structure.
- Many English "do X for me" verbs (买, 做, 找) are not double-object; put the beneficiary on 给 before the verb: 给我买一个蛋糕.
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Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
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