给【gěi】

给 as a verb means "give", and it takes two objects in a row: the person, then the thing.

The order is fixed. English allows "give a book to you"; Chinese puts the recipient first with nothing in between.

给 before another verb

In front of a verb, 给 marks who the action is done for or to. It goes before the verb, not after.

wǒ我dǎ diàn huà打电话gěi给nǐ你 is also heard, especially in the south, but 给你打电话 is the pattern to learn first.

Negation

不给 for a refusal, 没给 for something that did not happen.

给 after the verb

Some verbs take 给 on the other side: 送给, 卖给, 还给, 借给. The recipient follows.

Handing something over

给我 on its own is an instruction to hand it over, and sounds abrupt without 请 or 吧.