给 (gěi) means "give," and it is the single most useful verb for learning how Chinese handles two objects at once. When you give, three things are involved: the giver, the person who receives (the indirect object), and the thing handed over (the direct object). Chinese lines these up as 给 + recipient + thing — exactly the order of English "give me a book." Because that order matches English so closely, 给 is the perfect anchor: master it here and you already know the frame for 送 (give as a gift), 教 (teach), 告诉 (tell) and the rest of the giving verbs.
The double-object frame: recipient before thing
The rule is short: the person comes first, the thing comes second. There is no linking word between them — no equivalent of English "to."
| 给 (verb) | Recipient (IO) | Thing (DO) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 给 | 我 (wǒ) | 一本书 (yì běn shū) | give me a book |
| 给 | 他 (tā) | 一些钱 (yìxiē qián) | give him some money |
| 给 | 我们 (wǒmen) | 两张票 (liǎng zhāng piào) | give us two tickets |
给我一本书。
gěi wǒ yì běn shū
Give me a book. (informal) — 给 + recipient (我) + thing (一本书), the prototypical frame.
服务员，请给我一杯水。
fúwùyuán, qǐng gěi wǒ yì bēi shuǐ
Waiter, please give me a glass of water. (polite) — 请 softens the request; the recipient-first order is unchanged.
老板给了我一个机会。
lǎobǎn gěi le wǒ yí ge jīhuì
The boss gave me a chance. (neutral) — even abstract 'things' like a 机会 (opportunity) slot into the direct-object position.
Aspect and negation: where 了, 没 and 别 sit
Because 给 is a full action verb here, it behaves like any transitive verb. The perfective 了 attaches directly to 给, before the recipient. To negate a completed giving you use 没(有); to tell someone not to give, use 别 or 不要.
我给了他两百块钱。
wǒ gěi le tā liǎng bǎi kuài qián
I gave him two hundred kuai. (neutral) — 了 sits right after 给.
奶奶每年都给我们压岁钱。
nǎinai měi nián dōu gěi wǒmen yāsuìqián
Grandma gives us New Year's money every year. (informal) — a habitual gift, no 了.
他还没给我发工资。
tā hái méi gěi wǒ fā gōngzī
He hasn't paid me my salary yet. (informal) — 没 negates the completed action; note 给 here leads into another verb, previewing the coverb use.
这是秘密，别告诉别人，也别给他看。
zhè shì mìmì, bié gàosu biéren, yě bié gěi tā kàn
It's a secret — don't tell anyone, and don't show it to him either. (informal) — 别 blocks the action.
Why you don't add "to"
English gives you two ways to say it: "give me a book" and "give a book to me." Beginners often try to reproduce the second pattern by inserting a word, producing sentences like 给一本书给我. In the plain double-object frame, that extra 给 is wrong — the recipient simply comes first, with nothing between 给 and the person. If you *do want the thing to lead (for emphasis or when it's already known), Chinese restructures the whole sentence with 把: 把那本书给我 (bǎ nà běn shū gěi wǒ, "hand me that book"), not a second 给. There is also a genuine verb + 给 pattern (送给, 卖给) — but that belongs to the three roles of 给, not to this basic frame.
你能给我你的微信吗？
nǐ néng gěi wǒ nǐ de wēixìn ma?
Can you give me your WeChat? (informal) — recipient 我 directly after 给, no 'to'.
把那本书给我，谢谢。
bǎ nà běn shū gěi wǒ, xièxie
Pass me that book, thanks. (informal) — when the thing is already known, 把 fronts it; you still don't double up 给.
Common Mistakes
1. Reversing the two objects. The thing must not come before the person. English word order is your friend here — keep the recipient first.
❌ 给一本书我。
Incorrect — the recipient comes before the thing, not after.
✅ 给我一本书。
gěi wǒ yì běn shū
Give me a book. — recipient (我) first, thing (一本书) second.
2. Inserting a second 给 to mimic English "to." There is no "to" in the plain frame.
❌ 给一本书给我。
Incorrect for 'give a book to me' — don't wrap the thing in a second 给.
✅ 给我一本书。
gěi wǒ yì běn shū
Give me a book. — one 给, recipient first.
3. Dropping the measure word. A counted noun needs its classifier — you cannot say 一书.
❌ 给我一书。
Incorrect — a counted noun needs a measure word: 一本书.
✅ 给我一本书。
gěi wǒ yì běn shū
Give me a book. — 本 is the measure word for books.
4. Using 二 instead of 两 before a measure word. For "two + classifier," it is always 两.
❌ 给我二张票。
Incorrect — before a measure word 'two' is 两, not 二.
✅ 给我两张票。
gěi wǒ liǎng zhāng piào
Give me two tickets. — 两张, not 二张.
Key Takeaways
- 给 (gěi) "give" takes two objects in the fixed order 给 + recipient + thing — the same order as English "give me a book."
- Nothing sits between 给 and the recipient: no "to," no second 给. To front the thing instead, restructure with 把 (把书给我).
- 了 attaches directly to 给 (给了他钱); negate completed giving with 没, and prohibit with 别.
- Counted things need a measure word (一本书, 两张票), and "two" before a classifier is 两, never 二.
- This recipient-first frame is the template for the other double-object verbs — 送, 借, 教, 告诉 all follow it.
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Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- Double-Object Verbs (送, 借, 还, 教, 告诉)HSK 3 — A family of transfer and communication verbs — 送, 借, 还, 教, 告诉, 问 — share 给's recipient-before-thing frame; 借 even covers both 'lend' and 'borrow', sorted out by direction.
- 给 as Verb vs Coverb vs Result (送给他)HSK 3 — One syllable, three jobs: 给 is a full verb 'give' (给我钱), a coverb 'for/to' before another verb (给你打电话), and a resultative marking transfer after a verb (送给他) — position tells you which.
- 给 (gěi): To / For (Recipient)HSK 1 — As a coverb, 给 (gěi) sits before the main verb to mark who receives or benefits from an action: 给你打电话 (call you), 给妈妈做饭 (cook for mom), 给大家介绍一下 (introduce it to everyone). The 给-phrase comes first — Chinese does not tack 'to you' onto the end.
- Double-Object Verbs (Give Me a Book)HSK 2 — A handful of Chinese verbs take TWO objects in a row — the recipient first, the thing second, with no preposition between them: 给我一本书 'give me a book', 老师教我们中文 'the teacher teaches us Chinese', 告诉你一件事 'tell you something'. The order is fixed as recipient-before-thing, exactly like English 'give me a book' (never 'give a book me').