Double Object Sentences: 给/送 + person + thing

Chinese grammar · HSK 2 · 双宾语句 · By Carson 木林森

Some verbs (给, 送, 教, 问, 告诉) take TWO objects in a row: first the PERSON (indirect object), then the THING (direct object) — no preposition needed.

给 gěi to 送 sòng to send; to deliver; to transmit 动词 dòng cí 宾语 bīn yǔ

Pattern: Subject + Verb + Person + Thing

妈妈给我一件礼物。(Mom gives me a gift.)
老师教我们汉语。(The teacher teaches us Chinese.)

Common mistake: don't add 给 before the person with verbs that already include the 'giving' meaning built in (送, 教, 问) — ❌ 老师教给我们汉语 is wrong; ✅ 老师教我们汉语.

Worked examples

Chinese	Pinyin	English	What it shows
妈妈给我一件礼物。	Māma gěi wǒ yī jiàn lǐwù.	Mom gives me a gift.	Minimal frame with 给 (prototypical double-object verb).
老师教我们汉语。	Lǎoshī jiāo wǒmen Hànyǔ.	The teacher teaches us Chinese.	Different verb (教), no preposition inserted before the person.
他问了我一个很难的问题，我不知道怎么回答。	Tā wèn le wǒ yī gè hěn nán de wèntí, wǒ bù zhīdào zěnme huídá.	He asked me a difficult question, and I didn't know how to answer.	Adds aspect marker 了 and a follow-up consequence clause.

Produce this pattern without stopping to think about it. GraphChinese drills Double Object Sentences across 13 exercises and schedules the review that keeps it.

What this opens up

These patterns list Double Object Sentences among their own prerequisites, so they become readable once this one holds.

Passive Constructions

Double Object Sentences is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.

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