Marking a Recipient with 给 in Chinese
给
Before another verb, 给 introduces the person who receives or benefits from an action. The 给 phrase stands before the main verb: 我给他写信. This differs from 给 as the main verb meaning give, where the recipient and transferred item follow 给 within its own predicate.
Published July 23, 2026
Reviewed July 23, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Subject + 给 + Recipient + Verb + Theme
Read the structure
Before another verb, 给 introduces the person who receives or benefits from an action. The 给 phrase stands before the main verb: 我给他写信. This differs from 给 as the main verb meaning give, where the recipient and transferred item follow 给 within its own predicate. Keep the model Subject + 给 + Recipient + Verb + Theme visible while you compare each sentence.
我给妈妈打电话。
I call my mother.
Choose the right context
Place 给 plus a person before a verb done for or directed to that person. Use 给 as the main verb when an item is transferred to a recipient. Keep the recipient before the theme in the basic give predicate.
老师给我们上课。
The teacher teaches us.
Respect the boundary
Do not place a preverbal 给-recipient phrase after the main verb's object. Do not omit the recipient after prepositional 给. Do not add a second 给 before the same recipient in a simple give clause.
我给打电话妈妈。
(I call my mother.)
Repair the pattern
Recipient splits 给 from its phrase: 给 must directly introduce its recipient 妈妈 before the main verb; the action cannot split that prepositional phrase. Perfective 了 splits the classifier noun phrase: Perfective 了 follows the transfer verb 给; it cannot split the classifier phrase 一本书 between 本 and 书.
我给妈妈打电话。
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.
我给妈妈打电话。
I call my mother.
我
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
给
给
This part occupies the 给 position in the model pattern.
妈妈
Recipient
This part occupies the Recipient position in the model pattern.
打电话
Verb
This part occupies the Verb 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.
我给妈妈打电话。
I call my mother.
老师给我们上课。
The teacher teaches us.
他给了我一本书。
He gave me a book.
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- Place 给 plus a person before a verb done for or directed to that person.
- Use 给 as the main verb when an item is transferred to a recipient.
- Keep the recipient before the theme in the basic give predicate.
Do not use it when
- Do not place a preverbal 给-recipient phrase after the main verb's object.
- Do not omit the recipient after prepositional 给.
- Do not add a second 给 before the same recipient in a simple give clause.
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.
我给打电话妈妈。
我给妈妈打电话。
Recipient splits 给 from its phrase
给 must directly introduce its recipient 妈妈 before the main verb; the action cannot split that prepositional phrase.
他给我一本了书。
他给了我一本书。
Perfective 了 splits the classifier noun phrase
Perfective 了 follows the transfer verb 给; it cannot split the classifier phrase 一本书 between 本 and 书.
我给打电话妈妈。
给 must directly introduce its recipient 妈妈 before the main verb; the action cannot split that prepositional phrase.
他给我一本了书。
Perfective 了 follows the transfer verb 给; it cannot split the classifier phrase 一本书 between 本 and 书.
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 给.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 给. 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
Marking a Recipient with 给 Questions
Can 给 itself mean give?
Yes. As the main verb it can take a recipient and a transferred item.
Why does 给 sometimes follow a verb?
Some verbs allow a postverbal recipient pattern, but the preverbal 给 phrase is the clear general pattern taught here.
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 【二26】 (PDF p. 188)
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 14, §14.2.5, preposition 给 introducing a recipient or beneficiary
Supports a preverbal 给 phrase that overtly introduces the recipient or beneficiary of the following action.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
Easy to confuse
双宾语句Double-Object Sentences
Distinguish preverbal 给 introducing a recipient from verbs that directly take recipient and theme as two objects.
Compare
宾语的语义类型2Location and Result Objects
The receiver elicited from 给 contrasts the other semantic roles of the object to avoid treating all postverbal nouns as subjects.
Continue learning
名词性宾语Basic Nominal Objects
Compare the recipient elicited by 给 with the ordinary 名词性宾语, and continue to determine the boundary between the preposition object and the verb object.
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Easy to confuse
Distinguish preverbal 给 introducing a recipient from verbs that directly take recipient and theme as two objects.