Level 4 · Lesson 19

给我一杯茶
Give me a cup of tea

请给我一杯茶。我想送她一件礼物。

Verbs that take two objects — person first, thing second — and 给 in front of the verb.

听 · Listen

妈妈的生日
 安娜 —  李明，请给我一杯茶。 
Li Ming, please give me a cup of tea.  
 李明 —  给你。 
Here you are.  
 安娜 —  谢谢！明天是我妈妈的生日，我想送她一件礼物。 
Thanks! Tomorrow is my mother's birthday and I want to give her a present.  
 李明 —  你妈妈在美国，你给她寄什么？ 
Your mother is in America — what are you posting her?  
 安娜 —  一件中国衣服。你知道哪儿有吗？ 
A piece of Chinese clothing. Do you know where there is any?  
 李明 —  学校旁边的商店有。我告诉你，那儿的衣服很漂亮。 
The shop next to the school has some. I'm telling you, the clothes there are lovely.  
 安娜 —  好！我问问王老师，她教我们汉语，也很了解北京。 
Great! I'll ask Teacher Wang — she teaches us Chinese and knows Beijing well.  
 李明 —  好，你给她打电话吧。 
Good, give her a call.  

讲解 · Explanation

给我一杯茶。送她一件礼物。教我们汉语。

A small group of verbs can hold two objects at once, and the order never changes: the person comes first, the thing second. 给我一杯茶, 送她一件礼物, 教我们汉语, 告诉我你的名字. Read it as 'give — me — a cup of tea' and you have the pattern. Only a few verbs do this — 给, 送, 教, 告诉, 问 — so learn them as a set; with any other verb you need the 给 of the next paragraph.

我给她打电话。我给妈妈寄一件衣服。

给 has a second job. Placed in front of the verb, it names the person the action is done for: 给我打电话 (call me), 给妈妈寄东西 (post Mum something), 给你介绍一位老师. The 给-phrase stands between the subject and the verb, exactly where 也 and the time words stand — Chinese piles this kind of information up in front of the verb, not after it. You will also hear 打电话给你 in southern speech; keep to the front position for now, because it is right everywhere.

王老师教我们汉语。她告诉我一件事。

Two readings to be careful with. 教 is jiāo, first tone, when it means 'to teach' — 她教汉语 — and jiào in 教室. 告诉 is gàosu, the second syllable light. 告诉 always needs a hearer: 我告诉你 is complete, 我告诉 is not. And 送 has two senses that both fit its pattern: to give as a gift (送她一件礼物) and to see somebody off. 寄 is narrower — only what goes by post.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
给	to give; for, to (someone)	给我一杯茶 / 给我打电话
送	to give as a present	送她一件礼物
教	to teach	first tone; 教我们汉语
告诉	to tell	always needs a hearer: 告诉我
寄	to post, to send by mail	给妈妈寄一件衣服
礼物	present, gift	一件礼物

练习 · Practice

请 ______。 Which one really says 'please give me a cup of tea'?

今天是妈妈的生日，我 ______ 她一件衣服。 You are handing your mother the present yourself.

明天晚上你 ______ 我打电话吧。 Fill in the word that marks who the call is for.

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'She told me one thing.'

给、送、教、告诉、寄 Match each verb to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

请给我一杯茶。我想送妈妈一件礼物。晚上你给我打电话吧。

Say those three sentences aloud, then build three more of your own on the same two shapes. First the double object: 我送…… (person) …… (thing), 我告诉…… (person) …… (thing). Then the 给 in front of the verb: 我给…… (person) 打电话, 我给…… (person) 寄一本书. Ask a friend for something small with 请给我…… — it is the politest short sentence you own.