Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
给 (gěi): give, to and for
Original Chinese study material with English explanations. Simplified Chinese with pinyin; beginner, intermediate and advanced are editorial difficulty labels.
As a verb, 给 means give: 给 + person + thing. Before another verb, 给 + person often identifies the recipient or beneficiary of the action.
我给她一本书。
Wǒ gěi tā yì běn shū.
I give her a book.
他给妈妈打电话。
Tā gěi māma dǎ diànhuà.
He calls his mum.
The English word “to” has several Chinese equivalents. 给 is not used for every destination or every infinitive.
Try it
Who receives the phone call in 他给老师打电话？
- The teacher
- The speaker
- His mother
Answer and explanation
The teacher. 给老师 identifies the person he calls.