给 and its relation to predicate verbs and 了

[Duomi]

Quick question,

When 给 is used as a preposition, as in, 他给哥哥打了一个电话，why is it that 了attaches itself to 打 and not 给？

Another example; which form is correct：

他给不给她寄了礼物？ or 她给了他寄不寄礼物？

Another question is, in the above Verb not Verb example, should it be 给 or 寄 that is rendered in the V not V form?

谢谢，

[andysun731]

When 给 is used as a preposition, there is no 了 attaching to it. 了 attaching to 打 means this is finished. When 了 attaches to 给, 给 is a verb meaning "give". e.g. 他给了我一个礼物。

"他给不给她寄了礼物？" or "她给了他寄不寄礼物？" are both weird. Maybe you want to say "他给没给她寄礼物？" or "他寄没寄礼物给她？". In both cases, 给 is more like a preposition while 寄 is a verb. And often there is no 了 in "V not V" or "P not P" interrogative sentences.

[danny1997]

他 给哥哥 打了一个电话 : here 给 is used as a preposition, as "to", not as "in". This phrase can be put in another way: 他 打了一个电话 给哥哥. (He made a call to his brother.). 了 that is attached to a verb precises that this action 打电话 has already been done in the past.

他给不给她寄了礼物？她给了他寄不寄礼物？These 2 phrases are not correct.

We should say: 他给不给她寄礼物? = Will he send her a gift or not? (future tense)

Or We can say: 他给她寄了礼物(吗)? = 他寄了礼物给她(吗)? = Did he send her a gift? (past tense)

Another question is, in the above Verb not Verb example, should it be 给 or 寄 that is rendered in the V not V form?

In the about examples, 打(电话) and 寄(礼物) are verbs. 给 is rendered in the V not V form.

[unicar]

Firstly, I think the equivalent form of that sentence in English is "He made a phone call to his brother", and 给 can be seen as "to" in the quoted sentense. And 了 often comes after a verb implying past tense or perfect tense (these two tenses are pretty vague in Chinese), just like -ed in English.

As to the two sentences in Chinese, I don't think either form is correct. And I'm not sure what you want to express exactly, maybe you can explain it in English, and I can provide some suggestions.

And pardon my English, but I didn't quite get what you mean by "V not V" form.

[anonymoose]

In your first example, 给 is functioning as a coverb. 了 should come after the verb, and therefore must come after 打.

Both of your second two sentences sound wrong to me. If you remove the 了, you can say 你给不给她寄礼物？. But if it is a past action, I would be more inclined to say something like 你有没有给她寄礼物？ or 你给她寄了礼物没有？

[Duomi]

感谢你们。