Once you have the 给 double-object frame, a whole set of everyday verbs falls into place, because they use the same order: verb + recipient + thing. These are the verbs of transfer (giving, lending, returning) and communication (teaching, telling, asking). The good news for English speakers is that many of the English verbs that allow "give someone something" — tell, teach, lend, ask, hand — keep exactly that pattern in Chinese. This page covers the core members and the two traps that make Chinese different: 借 pulling double duty as lend and borrow, and 送 meaning both give a gift and see someone off.
The shared frame
Every verb below slots a person (indirect object) in before the thing (direct object), with no word between them.
| Verb | Core meaning | Example | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 送 (sòng) | give as a gift; see off | 送你一个礼物 | give you a gift |
| 借 (jiè) | lend / borrow | 借我十块钱 | lend me ten kuai |
| 还 (huán) | return, give back | 还我书 | give me back my book |
| 教 (jiāo) | teach | 教我们中文 | teach us Chinese |
| 告诉 (gàosu) | tell | 告诉他答案 | tell him the answer |
| 问 (wèn) | ask (a question of) | 问你一个问题 | ask you a question |
生日快乐！我送你一个小礼物。
shēngrì kuàilè! wǒ sòng nǐ yí ge xiǎo lǐwù
Happy birthday! Here's a little gift for you. (informal) — 送 + 你 + 礼物, gift-giving frame.
王老师教我们中文，教得很好。
Wáng lǎoshī jiāo wǒmen Zhōngwén, jiāo de hěn hǎo
Teacher Wang teaches us Chinese, and teaches it well. (neutral) — 教 + 我们 + 中文.
别告诉他答案，让他自己想。
bié gàosu tā dá'àn, ràng tā zìjǐ xiǎng
Don't tell him the answer — let him work it out himself. (informal) — 告诉 takes the hearer directly, no 'to'.
我能问你一个问题吗？
wǒ néng wèn nǐ yí ge wèntí ma?
Can I ask you a question? (neutral) — 问 + 你 + 问题; the person you ask is the indirect object.
借: one verb, both directions
The verb that surprises everyone is 借 (jiè), which means both lend and borrow — the same character for giving the thing out and taking it in. Chinese doesn't distinguish them in the verb; it distinguishes them by who ends up with the thing, marked by the surrounding words. When you hand something over, the direction flows outward, often made explicit with 借给 (lend to). When you receive, the source is marked with 跟 / 向 / 从 (from).
能借我十块钱吗？我明天还你。
néng jiè wǒ shí kuài qián ma? wǒ míngtiān huán nǐ
Can you lend me ten kuai? I'll pay you back tomorrow. (informal) — 借我 = lend to me; 还你 = give back to you.
我想跟你借一本书。
wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ jiè yì běn shū
I'd like to borrow a book from you. (neutral) — 跟你借 makes it 'borrow from you'; the thing comes to me.
这本书是我从图书馆借的。
zhè běn shū shì wǒ cóng túshūguǎn jiè de
I borrowed this book from the library. (neutral) — 从…借 = borrow from; direction resolves the ambiguity.
送 and 还: gifts, farewells, and giving back
送 (sòng) has two everyday senses. The transfer sense is "give as a gift" (a present, flowers, a card). The motion sense is "see someone off / accompany them out" — you're not handing over an object, you're escorting a person. Context and whether there's a thing-object tell them apart. 还 (huán) means "return / give back," the natural partner of 借.
我去机场送朋友，晚点回来。
wǒ qù jīchǎng sòng péngyou, wǎndiǎn huí lái
I'm going to the airport to see a friend off — I'll be back later. (informal) — here 送 is 'see off', no thing given.
你什么时候还我钱？已经三个月了。
nǐ shénme shíhou huán wǒ qián? yǐjīng sān ge yuè le
When are you going to pay me back? It's been three months already. (informal) — 还 + 我 + 钱, give back.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding 给 to verbs that don't need it. 告诉, 问, 教 already carry the recipient — no "to."
❌ 我想告诉给你一件事。
Incorrect — 告诉 takes the hearer directly: 告诉你, not 告诉给你.
✅ 我想告诉你一件事。
wǒ xiǎng gàosu nǐ yí jiàn shì
I want to tell you something. — the hearer 你 follows 告诉 directly.
2. Getting 借's direction backwards. 借给 sends the thing out; use 跟/从…借 to receive it.
❌ 我想借给你一本书。
Wrong if you mean 'borrow from you' — 借给你 means you LEND to them.
✅ 我想跟你借一本书。
wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ jiè yì běn shū
I'd like to borrow a book from you. — 跟你借 marks the source.
3. Reversing recipient and thing. As with 给, the person comes before the thing.
❌ 教中文我们。
Incorrect — recipient before thing: 教我们中文.
✅ 教我们中文。
jiāo wǒmen Zhōngwén
Teach us Chinese. — 我们 (recipient) before 中文 (thing).
4. Confusing 送's two senses. With a thing-object it's a gift; with a person and a destination it's seeing off.
❌ 我送你去机场一个礼物。
Incorrect — can't blend 'see you to the airport' and 'give you a gift' in one clause.
✅ 我送你去机场。
wǒ sòng nǐ qù jīchǎng
I'll take you to the airport. — pure 'see off / accompany' sense, no thing given.
Key Takeaways
- Transfer and communication verbs — 送, 借, 还, 教, 告诉, 问 — share 给's frame: verb + recipient + thing.
- Most of them take the recipient directly, with no 给: 告诉你, 问你, 教我们. Adding "to" is an English transfer error.
- 借 means both lend and borrow; direction is shown by 借给 (out) versus 跟/向/从…借 (in), not by the verb.
- 送 = give a gift or see someone off; 还 = give back. A thing-object signals the gift/return reading.
- These all inherit the recipient-first order from 给 double object; see also the speech verbs for 告诉 vs 说.
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- 给 (gěi): Double Object (给我一本书)HSK 1 — 给 (gěi) 'give' takes two objects in the order recipient + thing — 给我一本书 (give me a book) — making it the model verb for the whole double-object class.
- 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.
- 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').
- Speech Verbs (说, 讲, 告诉, 问)HSK 2 — The core speech verbs pattern differently by what object they demand: 说 takes content, 告诉 needs a person first, 问 asks a person a question, 讲 explains, 回答 answers, 叫 tells someone to act.