双宾语
RuleVerb + indirect object (person) + direct object (thing): verbs of giving/telling take two objects.
Curiosity
When you mention both the receiver and the thing given, as in "give me a book," which comes first?
Intuition
Give-type verbs take "to whom (person) → what (thing)." The person (indirect object) comes first, the thing (direct object) after — as if your hand reaches the person first, then hands over the item.
Visualization
Reorder the English-like [give][a book][me] into Chinese [give][me][a book]. The person moves before the thing.
English-like (thing first)
给verb一本书direct object我indirect object
Chinese order (person first)
给verb我indirect object一本书direct object
Essence
Verb + indirect object + direct object. Verbs that allow this: gei (give), song (give as a gift), gaosu (tell), jiao (teach), wen (ask), huan (return). Not every verb takes a double object (mai cannot without gei).
Examples
他给我一本书。
He gives me a book.
老师教我们汉语。
The teacher teaches us Chinese.
请告诉我你的电话号码。
Please tell me your phone number.
Mini-quiz
Which has the correct order for "I send him a gift"?