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 kèrén dàochá .
Pour tea for the guests.
妈妈在给孩子们做饭。
Māma zài gěi háizi men zuòfàn .
Mom cooks for the kids.
请给我拿一双筷子。
Qǐng gěi wǒ ná yī shuāng kuàizi.
Please get a pair of chopsticks for me.
可以给我买一杯咖啡吗？
Kěyǐ gěi wǒ mǎi yī bēi kāfēi ma?
Could you buy me a cup of coffee?
如果你来中国玩，我给你当导游。
Rúguǒ nǐ lái Zhōngguó wán, wǒ gěi nǐ dāng dǎoyóu .
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)