Double-Object Sentences in Chinese
双宾语句
Some transfer and communication verbs can take two objects: a recipient first and the thing transferred or communicated second. In 老师教我们中文, 我们 receives the teaching and 中文 is its content. The pattern depends on the verb; ordinary transitive verbs cannot automatically take two objects.
Published July 23, 2026
Reviewed July 23, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Subject + Verb + Recipient + Theme
Read the structure
Some transfer and communication verbs can take two objects: a recipient first and the thing transferred or communicated second. In 老师教我们中文, 我们 receives the teaching and 中文 is its content. The pattern depends on the verb; ordinary transitive verbs cannot automatically take two objects. Keep the model Subject + Verb + Recipient + Theme visible while you compare each sentence.
我送他一本书。
I give him a book as a gift.
Choose the right context
Use recipient before theme after verbs such as 给, 送, or 还. Use a person before lesson content after 教. Use the pattern when both receiving participant and transferred theme are expressed.
老师教我们中文。
The teacher teaches us Chinese.
Respect the boundary
Do not reverse recipient and theme in the basic double-object order. Do not add 给 before a recipient when the selected main verb already uses the direct double-object frame. Do not attach two objects to a verb that licenses only one.
我送一本他书。
(I give him a book as a gift.)
Repair the pattern
Recipient splits the theme noun phrase: Recipient 他 must follow 送, while 一本书 remains an intact number-classifier-noun theme phrase. Stray 给 placed before the content object: After 教, 我们 is the recipient and 中文 is the content; 给 cannot introduce the non-recipient content noun.
我送他一本书。
Use the repaired structure without changing the intended meaning.
02 / MAP
Read the Sentence
Read from left to right and notice the job performed by each part. The labels describe this example; they are not a rule that every Chinese sentence must copy.
我送他一本书。
I give him a book as a gift.
我
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
送
Verb
This part occupies the Verb position in the model pattern.
他
Recipient
This part occupies the Recipient position in the model pattern.
一本书
Theme
This part occupies the Theme position in the model pattern.
03 / EXAMPLES
Examples You Can Reuse
Keep the structure stable while changing the people, objects, times, or conditions. Pinyin is shown as reading support; use the Chinese sentence and translation to confirm the grammar relationship.
我送他一本书。
I give him a book as a gift.
老师教我们中文。
The teacher teaches us Chinese.
请还我那支笔。
Please return that pen to me.
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- Use recipient before theme after verbs such as 给, 送, or 还.
- Use a person before lesson content after 教.
- Use the pattern when both receiving participant and transferred theme are expressed.
Do not use it when
- Do not reverse recipient and theme in the basic double-object order.
- Do not add 给 before a recipient when the selected main verb already uses the direct double-object frame.
- Do not attach two objects to a verb that licenses only one.
05 / REPAIR
Compare Right and Wrong
Compare the smallest meaningful change. Each explanation identifies a placement, scope, form, or clause relationship instead of treating the whole sentence as one undifferentiated mistake.
我送一本他书。
我送他一本书。
Recipient splits the theme noun phrase
Recipient 他 must follow 送, while 一本书 remains an intact number-classifier-noun theme phrase.
老师教我们给中文。
老师教我们中文。
Stray 给 placed before the content object
After 教, 我们 is the recipient and 中文 is the content; 给 cannot introduce the non-recipient content noun.
我送一本他书。
Recipient 他 must follow 送, while 一本书 remains an intact number-classifier-noun theme phrase.
老师教我们给中文。
After 教, 我们 is the recipient and 中文 is the content; 给 cannot introduce the non-recipient content noun.
06 / PRACTICE
Practice the Grammar Point
Complete three short tasks in order: judge the pattern, repair a common error, and build the sentence. Feedback is fixed and reviewed, so these activities do not use a checker allowance.
1. Judge the sentence
2. Choose the correction
3. Build the sentence
Build a complete sentence with 双宾语句.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 双宾语句. Your draft moves to the checker through this browser session, selects this grammar point as the first review focus, and waits for you to submit.
08 / QUESTIONS
Double-Object Sentences Questions
Which object comes first?
The recipient normally comes before the transferred item or communicated content.
Can every verb take two objects?
No. The pattern is restricted to compatible transfer, teaching, and communication verbs.
09 / SOURCES
Sources and Review Notes
These references support different parts of the lesson. GF0025-2021 supports level placement only; professional grammar works support the explanation, limits, examples, and cross-checks. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021)
Ministry of Education and State Language Commission · Ministry of Education of the PRC · 2021
Locator: GF0025-2021 Appendix A, Level 2 item 【二61】 (PDF p. 194)
Provides official Level 2 directory placement and examples only; it does not establish the learner-facing usage explanation.
Official sourceModern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide, 3rd ed.
Ross, Ma, Chen, He and Yeh · Routledge · 2024
Locator: Chapter 13, Action Verbs; Chapter 14, §14.2.5, 给 recipient phrases
These chapters support action-verb object frames and overt 给 recipient phrases; GF item 【二61】 supplies the two double-object layouts used by this card.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
Easy to confuse
给Marking a Recipient with 给
Distinguish between the two sentence patterns in which the verb directly controls the recipient and things in a double object and the 给 word phrase marks the recipient in advance.
Compare
宾语的语义类型3Advanced Semantic Object Types
Compare the recipient–theme structure of double-object sentences with less typical semantic roles of single objects.
Continue learning
宾语的语义类型2Location and Result Objects
Classify the recipient and theme in a double-object sentence before studying other semantic roles of objects.
Easy to confuse
兼语句Pivotal Sentences
In double-object sentences both nouns depend on one verb; in pivotal sentences the first object also subjects the next predicate.
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Easy to confuse
Distinguish between the two sentence patterns in which the verb directly controls the recipient and things in a double object and the 给 word phrase marks the recipient in advance.