▎給, gĕi, (Prep), Indirect Object Marker (2)

 

Function There is a set of verbs called Double Object verbs, which take two objects, direct and indirect. Indirect objects are marked by the preposition 給, and direct objects are not marked.

1 他付給房東三個月的房租。

Tā fù gěi fángdōng sān ge yuè de fángzū.

He paid three months of rent to his landlord.

2 王先生賣給他一輛機車。

Wáng xiānshēng mài gěi tā yí liàng jīchē.

Mr. Wang sold him a motorcycle.

3 他從法國回來，送給李老師一些法國甜點。

Tā cóng Fǎguó huílái, sòng gěi Lǐ lǎoshī yìxiē Fǎguó tiándiǎn.

He’s back from French and he gave Teacher Li some French pastries.

 

Structures 給 marks the indirect object. The basic word order is: Verb＋給＋IndirectObj＋DirectObj. Variations in word order are illustrated below.

(1) Basic pattern

1 他想賣給我朋友這個電腦。

Tā xiǎng mài gěi wǒ péngyǒu zhè ge diànnǎo.

He wants to sell my friend this computer.

2 語言中心主任昨天才發給小陳上個月的薪水。

Yǔyán zhōngxīn zhǔrèn zuótiān cái fā gěi Xiǎo Chén shàng ge yuè de xīnshuǐ.

The language center director paid Xiao Chen last month’s wage only yesterday.

3 我打算送給我同學這些桌子、椅子。

Wǒ dǎsuàn sòng gěi wǒ tóngxué zhèxiē zhuōzi, yǐzi.

I plan to give my classmates these desks and chairs.

(2) Indirect obj. moved to the back

1 他想賣這個電腦給我朋友。

Tā xiǎng mài zhè ge diànnǎo gěi wǒ péngyǒu.

He wants to sell this computer to my friend.

2 語言中心主任昨天才發上個月的薪水給小陳。

Yǔyán zhōngxīn zhǔrèn zuótiān cái fā shàng ge yuè de xīnshuǐ gěi Xiǎo Chén.

The language center director paid last month’s wage to Xiao Chen only yesterday.

3 我打算送這些桌子、椅子給我同學。

Wǒ dǎsuàn sòng zhèxiē zhuōzi, yǐzi gěi wǒ tóngxué.

I plan to give these desks and chairs to my classmates.

(3) Direct obj. moved to the front

1 這個電腦，他想賣給我朋友。

Zhè ge diànnǎo, tā xiǎng mài gěi wǒ péngyǒu.

This computer, he wants to sell it to my friend.

2 上個月的薪水，語言中心主任昨天才發給小陳。

Shàng ge yuè de xīnshuǐ, yǔyán zhōngxīn zhǔrèn zuótiān cái fā gěi Xiǎo Chén.

Last month’s wage, the language center director paid it to Xiao Chen only yesterday.

3 這些桌子、椅子，我打算送給我同學。

Zhèxiē zhuōzi, yǐzi, wǒ dǎsuàn sòng gěi wǒ tóngxué.

These desks and chairs, I plan to give them to my classmates.

Negation：

1 他只要租三個月，所以那個房間，房東不租給他了。

Tā zhǐyào zū sān ge yuè, suǒyǐ nà ge fángjiān, fángdōng bù zū gěi tā le.

He only wants it for three months, so the landlord isn’t going rent him the room.

2 我還沒付給房東上個月的房租。

Wǒ hái méi fù gěi fángdōng shàng ge yuè de fángzū.

I haven’t given my landlord last month’s rent yet.

3 因為陳小姐快回國了，所以我不給她介紹工作了。

Yīnwèi Chén xiǎojiě kuài huíguó le, suǒyǐ wǒ bù gěi tā jièshào gōngzuò le.

Miss Chen is going back to her home country soon, so I needn’t tell her of any jobs.

Questions：

1 你的腳踏車賣給他了沒有？

Nǐ de jiǎotàchē mài gěi tā le méi yǒu?

Have you sold him your bycicle?

2 那些芒果跟甜點，妳是不是送給小陳了？

Nàxiē mángguǒ gēn tiándiǎn, nǐ shìbúshì sòng gěi Xiǎo Chén le?

Did you give Xiao Chen those mangoes and sweets?

3 下個月中文課的學費，你付給學校了沒有？

Xià ge yuè Zhōngwén kè de xuéfèi, nǐ fù gěi xuéxiào le méi yǒu?

Have you paid the tuition for Chinese classes next month?

 

Usage If the main verb in the structure involves ‘outward, away from’ actions from the actor, 給 can be deleted, such as in the following examples 1–3. Otherwise deletion is not possible. So, we cannot say ＊我做他一個蛋糕。＊Wǒ zuò tā yí ge dàngāo. 或 ＊哥哥買我一本書。＊Gēge mǎi wǒ yì běn shū.

1 我要賣我朋友這個電腦。

Wǒ yào mài wǒ péngyǒu zhè ge diànnǎo.

I want to sell my friend this computer.

2 我打算送我同學這些桌子、椅子。

Wǒ dǎsuàn sòng wǒ tóngxué zhèxiē zhuōzi, yǐzi.

I plan to give my classmates these desks and chairs.

3 你知道公司付他多少薪水嗎？

Nǐ zhīdào gōngsī fù tā duōshǎo xīnshuǐ ma?

Do you know how much salary the company pays him?