1.3 KiB
1.3 KiB
#object #construction #还
In English we say:
subject + verb + direct object + to + indirect object
However, in Mandarin the order is:
subject + verb + indirect object + direct object
For example:
- 我还你书。 wǒ huán nǐ shū I return the book to you.
- 谁教我们汉字？ shéi jiāo wǒmen Hànzi Who teaches us Chinese characters?
- 他告诉我他的名字。 tā gàosu wǒ tā de míngzi He told me his name.
- 你问老师什么？ nǐ wèn lǎoshī shénme What are you asking the teacher?
- 老师给学生词典。 lǎoshī gěi xuésheng cidiǎn The teacher gives the students a dictionary.
Different verbs can take two objects, including but not limited to:
- 还huán
- 教jiāo
- 告诉gàosu
- 问wèn
- 给gěi
#benefactor However, only a small total number of verbs take two grammatical objects. Other verbs may involve the use of a different grammatical pattern to express the directed goal of an action, for example the Prepositions#Benefactor benefactor 给. So, it's key to remember the difference between verbs which take two objects, and those which use the benefactor pattern. For example, 买 takes the benefactor pattern, so must be used with 给 when describing buying something for someone.