Learn Hardcore Chinese: lǎobǎn xiàbān yǐhòu mǎshàng gěi wǒmen dǎ diànhuà. - After getting off work, the boss immediately calls us.

In this sentence 给 is not “to give (something)” in the literal sense. It’s used as a preposition / coverb meaning “to (someone)” or “for (someone)”.

Pattern: 给 + person + 打电话 = “to call (someone)”
So 给我们打电话 literally is “make a phone call to us.”

This is a very common pattern:

给他发邮件 – send an email to him
给妈妈写信 – write a letter to mom

Why do we say 打电话? Why can’t we just say something like 给我们电话 for “call us”?

In Chinese, 打电话 is a set phrase meaning “to make a phone call.”

打 here is a light verb used in many set phrases (打电话, 打车, 打游戏, etc.).
电话 by itself is just the noun “telephone / phone call.”

So:

打电话 = “to make a phone call”
给我们打电话 = “make a phone call to us” / “call us”

You cannot say 给我们电话 for “call us”; that sounds like “give us a telephone.” The verb 打 is required to make it into an action.

Is 给我们打电话 the only correct order, or can I say 打电话给我们?

Both are acceptable:

给我们打电话
打电话给我们

They mean the same thing: “call us.”

Nuance:

给我们打电话 is often a bit more neutral / common in the north.
打电话给我们 is also very common, especially in southern speech and in Taiwan.

In writing or standard speech, you can safely use either.

Why is 马上 placed before 给我们打电话? Can I move it?

Basic rule: adverbs like 马上 come before the verb phrase they modify.

Default, natural position here:

老板下班以后马上给我们打电话。

Other options:

老板下班以后给我们马上打电话。
- Grammatically okay, but less natural; it slightly emphasizes 马上 as modifying 给我们 rather than the whole action.
老板下班以后打电话马上给我们。
- Sounds awkward/unnatural.

So the most natural is exactly as given: time expression + 马上 + verb phrase.

Why does 下班以后 come at the beginning? Could I say 老板马上下班以后给我们打电话?

In Chinese, time expressions usually come early in the sentence, often right after the subject:

(Subject) + (Time) + (Manner) + Verb...

So:

老板下班以后马上给我们打电话。
- Subject: 老板
- Time: 下班以后
- Manner: 马上
- Action: 给我们打电话

老板马上下班以后给我们打电话 is not natural, because 马上 cannot sit in front of 下班以后 like that. It should modify the main action (“call”), not the time phrase (“after getting off work”).

Why does this sentence mean “will call” in the future even though there’s no word like “will” or a future tense?

Mandarin usually doesn’t mark tense the way English does. Time is often shown by time words and context, not by verb changes.

Here, 下班以后 (“after getting off work”) clearly refers to a future time (relative to now or relative to another event). Because of that:

给我们打电话 is interpreted as a future action: “(he) will call us.”

Chinese speakers rely on:

Time words: 昨天, 明天, 下周, 下班以后
Context and common sense

So even without a future marker, listeners understand the time. If you want to emphasize the plan/intention, you can add 会:

老板下班以后会马上给我们打电话。 – “The boss will (be sure to) call us right after work.”

What’s the difference between 下班以后 and something like 下班的时候?

Both relate to time, but they focus slightly differently:

下班以后 – after getting off work
- Emphasizes that work has already ended; the call happens after that point.
下班的时候 – “when (he) gets off work” / “at the time of getting off work”
- Emphasizes the time of the event itself, often overlapping with the moment of finishing work.

In many contexts they can both be translated as “when he gets off work,” but:

下班以后 feels more clearly post-event: first finish work, then call.
下班的时候 can feel more like “around the time he’s getting off work.”

Do I need a measure word, like 打一个电话 instead of just 打电话?

Both are possible:

打电话 – “make a phone call” (general, uncounted)
打一个电话 / 打个电话 – “make one phone call,” “give a (quick) call”

In your sentence, 打电话 is fine and natural because we’re just describing the action, not emphasizing “one” call.

If you want to stress it’s just “a quick call,” you might say:

老板下班以后马上给我们打个电话。 – “After the boss gets off work, he’ll give us a quick call.”

Is 马上 always as strong as “immediately” in English, or can it be softer?

马上 generally means “right away / immediately / very soon.”

In practice, how strong it feels depends on context and tone:

In a command: 你马上来！ – “Come here right now!” (very strong)
In a plan: 我马上给你打电话。 – “I’ll call you in a moment / right away.” (a bit softer; can mean “very soon” rather than to-the-second)

In your sentence, 马上 suggests “Right after he gets off work, he’ll call us,” not “to the exact second,” but still without delay.

Could I omit 我们 and just say 老板下班以后马上给打电话?

No. 给 needs an object (a person) here; you must say 给谁 (“to whom”).

Acceptable variants:

老板下班以后马上给我打电话。 – call me
老板下班以后马上给你打电话。 – call you
老板下班以后马上给他们打电话。 – call them

But:

老板下班以后马上给打电话。 – unnatural, incomplete (who is the call to?).

What exactly does 老板 mean here? Is it always “boss”?

老板 most commonly means “boss,” “manager,” “shop owner,” “restaurant owner,” etc.

In different contexts:

In a company: 老板 = “(the) boss,” often the owner or top manager.
In shops/restaurants: customers may address the male or female owner/staff as 老板 or 老板娘.
Colloquially in some regions, a wife might call her husband 老板, jokingly as “boss.”

In your sentence, in a typical textbook / office context, 老板 is best understood as “the boss” (the person in charge at work).

Would it be more natural to add 就 after 下班以后, like 老板下班以后就马上给我们打电话?

Adding 就 is very natural and often used:

老板下班以后就马上给我们打电话。

就 here emphasizes a quick, direct connection between the two actions:

下班以后就: “as soon as (he) gets off work, (he) immediately...”

Subtle nuance:

Without 就: simply states the sequence: after work, he’ll call.
With 就: highlights the promptness / immediacy after that time point.

Both sentences are correct; the version with 就 just feels a bit more emphatic about “right after.”