Chinese Double-Object Sentences — 双宾语句 with 给/送/教/告诉 (我给他一本书)

A double-object sentence (双宾语句 shuāng bīn yǔ jù) has a verb followed by two objects: an indirect object (the person receiving) and a direct object (the thing given). The pattern is 主语 + 动词 + 间接宾语 + 直接宾语: 我给他一本书 (I give him a book), 妈妈送我礼物 (Mom gives me a gift), 老师教我们汉语 (the teacher teaches us Chinese), 他告诉我一个秘密 (he tells me a secret).

The indirect object (间接宾语) comes first and usually refers to a person; the direct object (直接宾语) comes second and usually refers to a thing. Chinese keeps this fixed order with no preposition, unlike English which can say both "give him a book" and "give a book to him".

Double-object sentences are among the most common sentence types from HSK 2 onward, because the core verbs 给 (give), 送 (give as a gift), 教 (teach), and 告诉 (tell) all take two objects.

给 (gěi, give) is the most basic: 我给他一本书 (I give him a book), 她给我一杯水 (she gives me a cup of water), 请给我一张票 (please give me a ticket).

送 (sòng, give as a gift / see off) emphasizes giving as a present: 妈妈送我一份礼物 (Mom gives me a gift), 他送我一束花 (he gives me a bunch of flowers).

教 (jiāo, teach) takes a person and a subject of study: 老师教我们汉语 (the teacher teaches us Chinese), 她教我做饭 (she teaches me to cook).

告诉 (gàosu, tell) takes a person and the information told: 他告诉我一个秘密 (he tells me a secret), 请告诉我你的名字 (please tell me your name).

Other verbs that take two objects include 还 (huán, return), 借 (jiè, lend/borrow), 问 (wèn, ask), 递 (dì, hand over), 付 (fù, pay), and 赔 (péi, compensate): 他还我钱 (he returns my money), 我借你一本书 (I lend you a book), 我问你一个问题 (I ask you a question), 请递我那张纸 (please hand me that paper), 我付他一百块 (I pay him 100 yuan), 公司赔我损失 (the company compensates me for the loss).

The same meaning can often be expressed with a double-object sentence or a 把 sentence: 我给他一本书 vs 我把一本书给他 (both mean "I give him a book").

The double-object form is the neutral, everyday way to state who receives what. The 把 form pulls the direct object forward and emphasizes that you are disposing of or handling a specific item: 我把这本书给他 (I give him this book — the book is known and being handed over).

Use 把 when the direct object is already known or definite and you want to stress the action done to it; use the plain double-object order for neutral statements of giving, teaching, or telling.

The word 给 can be a verb (give) or a preposition (to/for). In 我给他一本书, 给 is the main verb. In 我送给他一本书 (I give him a book as a gift), 给 is a preposition attached to 送, forming the compound 送给.

Both orders are common and largely interchangeable: 我送他一本书 = 我送给他一本书, 我还他钱 = 我还给他钱. The compound form 送给/还给/交给/递给 is slightly more colloquial and stresses the direction toward the recipient.

When 给 introduces a beneficiary (doing something for someone), it is clearly a preposition, not a double-object verb: 我给你做饭 (I cook for you), 我给他买票 (I buy tickets for him).

The indirect object always comes immediately after the verb and before the direct object: 我给他一本书, not 我给一本书他. The person must sit next to the verb.

The direct object cannot move in front of the indirect object without help. To front the thing, use 把 (我把这本书给他) or a prepositional phrase (我送给他一本书).

With long or modified direct objects, the double-object order still holds: 老师教我们一首新歌 (the teacher teaches us a new song), 他告诉我一个重要的消息 (he tells me an important piece of news).

Do not put the direct object before the indirect object: 我给他一本书 (correct), 我给一本书他 (wrong).

Do not drop 给 when it is the main verb. 我他一本书 is ungrammatical because the verb 给 is missing; use 给 or a compound like 送给/还给.

Do not force a double-object order on verbs that do not allow two objects. 说 (say) and 讲 (speak) use 对/给 + person: 我对他说 (I say to him), not 我说他一句话 in a double-object sense.

Keep 问 consistent: 我问你一个问题 (ask you a question) uses the double-object order; the polite 请教 (consult) is used as 我请教你一个问题 or 我向你请教一个问题.