Verbs followed by "gei"

Although it's standard practice to put a word or phrase that modifies a verb before the verb, there are, of course, exceptions. 给 (gěi) is one of those exceptions; it sometimes comes before the verb, and sometimes after. This article is about when it comes after.

Basic Pattern

Structure

Note that the verbs that fit into this pattern are normally single-syllable verbs.

Subj. + Verb + 给 + Recipient + Obj.

Or

Obj. + Subj. + Verb + 给 + Recipient

Examples

• 昨天 他 送给 老师 一 束 花 。Zuótiān tā sòng gěi lǎoshī yī shù huā. He gave the teacher a bouquet of flowers.
• 一 个 男人 扔给 那个 乞丐 几 个 硬币 。Yī gè nánrén rēng gěi nàge qǐgài jǐ gè yìngbì.A man threw a few coins towards the beggar.
• 下 次 你 能 不 能 寄给 我 一些 书 ？Xià cì nǐ néng bu néng jì gěi wǒ yīxiē shū?Could you please send me some books next time?
• 这些 校友 一共 捐给 学校 二 十 万 。Zhèxiē xiàoyǒu yīgòng juān gěi xuéxiào èrshí wàn.These alumni donated two hundred thousand in total to the school.
• 老板 交给 他 一 个 非常 重要 的 项目 。 Lǎobǎn jiāo gěi tā yī gè fēicháng zhòngyào de xiàngmù.The boss gave him a very important project.

Pattern with 把

Structure

Additionally, you can add 把 into this structure. This does not change the meaning of the sentence and when used in context can even add emphasis to what's being done and given.

Subj. + 把 + Obj. + Verb + 给 + Recipient

Examples

• 你 想 把 这 束 花 送给 老师 吗 ？Nǐ xiǎng bǎ zhè shù huā sòng gěi lǎoshī ma?Are you going to give this bouquet of flowers to the teacher?
• 请 把 那些 照片 都 发给 我 。Qǐng bǎ nàxiē zhàopiàn dōu fā gěi wǒ.Please send all of those pictures to me.
• 我 已经 把 这 辆 车 卖给 了 一 个 朋友 。Wǒ yǐjīng bǎ zhè liàng chē mài gěi le yī gè péngyou.I've already sold this car to a friend of mine.
• 请 把 盐 递给 我 ，谢谢 。Qǐng bǎ yán dì gěi wǒ, xièxie.Please pass me the salt. Thanks.
• 老师 ，可以 把 这 本 书 借给 我 吗 ？Lǎoshī, kěyǐ bǎ zhè běn shūjiè gěi wǒ ma?Teacher, could you please lend me this book?

Note that the verb 嫁 (jià) cannot fit into the 把 pattern above; it's an exception.

• 她 嫁给 了 一 个 有钱 的 老头 。Tā jià gěi le yī gè yǒuqián de lǎotóu.

If you really want to make a 把 sentence, though, you can do this:

• 她 的 爸爸 把 她 嫁给 了 一 个 有钱 的 老头 。Tā de bàba bǎ tā jià gěi le yī gè yǒuqián de lǎotóu.

Academic Debate

Although 给 phrases should normally precede a verb like any other prepositional phrase, they sometimes come after. Why have it both ways? There is some academic debate over whether this 给 is actually a preposition or a type of verb (often called a "co-verb"), or even a type of complement. This type of discussion is outside the scope of this article, however.

See also

• Expressing "for" with "gei"
• Verbs preceded by "gei"
• Advanced uses of "ba"
• Expressing "for" with "wei"
• Expressing passive voice with "gei"

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语虚词例释 (pp. 196) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (pp. 464) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy