PrepositionsHSK 4

Expressing "for" with 给

Use 给 to express doing something for someone else. It is more informal than 为 and commonly used for everyday actions. The pattern is Subject + 给 + Recipient + Verb Phrase; the recipient is usually a person but can also be an animal, company, etc.

Structure

Subj. + 给 + Recipient + [Verb Phrase]

Recipient is usually a person but can also be an animal, company, etc.

Examples

给客人倒茶。
Gěi kè rén dǎo chá.
Pour tea for the guests.
妈妈在给孩子们做饭。
Mā ma zài gěi hái zi men zuò fàn.
Mom cooks for the kids.
请给我拿一双筷子。
Qǐng gěi wǒ ná yì shuāng kuài zi.
Please get a pair of chopsticks for me.
可以给我买一杯咖啡吗？
Kě yǐ gěi wǒ mǎi yì bēi kā fēi ma?
Could you buy me a cup of coffee?
如果你来中国玩，我给你当导游。
Rú guǒ nǐ lái zhōng guó wán, wǒ gěi nǐ dāng dǎo yóu.
If you come visit China, I'll be your tour guide.

Words that use this

给gěito; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier)