Xuéxiào gěi le tā jiǎngxuéjīn, lǎoshī yě hěn zhīchí tā jìxù xuéxí.

teacher

Breakdown of Xuéxiào gěi le tā jiǎngxuéjīn, lǎoshī yě hěn zhīchí tā jìxù xuéxí.

• 很hěn: very
• 也yě: also
• 学校xuéxiào: school

Questions & Answers about Xuéxiào gěi le tā jiǎngxuéjīn, lǎoshī yě hěn zhīchí tā jìxù xuéxí.

What is the function of 给 (gěi) in this sentence? Is it a verb or a preposition?

In this sentence, 给 is a verb meaning “to give”.

• 学校给了他奖学金 literally means “The school gave him a scholarship.”
• The structure is: Subject + 给 + (了) + recipient + thing given
  → 学校 + 给 + 了 + 他 + 奖学金

Here it is not the preposition use of 给 (like in 给他打电话 “call him”) but the main action verb “give.”

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Why do we need 了 (le) after 给, and what does it mean here?

了 after 给 marks a completed action (perfective aspect).

• 学校给了他奖学金 = “The school gave him a scholarship (the action is completed).”
• Without 了: 学校给他奖学金 can sound more like a general situation or rule, e.g. “The school gives him a scholarship” (regularly / generally), depending on context.

So 了 here tells us that the scholarship has already been awarded, not just that it happens in general.

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Can I move 了 to the end and say 学校给他奖学金了? Is that correct?