Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →English · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 44
Happy birthday! ¡Feliz cumpleaños!
Celebramos y damos regalos. Vocabulario: party, gift, present, birthday, invite, guest, cake, candle, celebrate, card, surprise, give. Gramática clave: el verbo "give" lleva DOS objetos — una PERSONA (quien recibe) y una COSA (lo que se da) — y hay dos órdenes de palabras. Patrón A: give + PERSONA + COSA: "I gave her a present", "He gave me a card". Patrón B: give + COSA + "to" + PERSONA: "I gave a present to her", "He gave a card to me". Los dos significan lo mismo. Otros verbos funcionan así también: send, show, tell, teach ("buy" es parecido pero usa "for"). Nota: en el Patrón A, NO pongas "to" antes de la persona: "He gave to me a present" ✗ → "He gave me a present" ✓. Usa "to" solo en el Patrón B, donde la cosa va primero. Rincón de pronunciación: el "to" débil /tə/ y el enlace en "give it to me".
Dialogue
What should I give him? — ¿Qué le doy?
- Emma Minsu, it's Jack's birthday tomorrow. Are you coming to the party? Minsu, mañana es el cumpleaños de Jack. ¿Vienes a la fiesta?
- Minsu Yes! Last year he gave to me a nice book. ¡Sí! El año pasado me dio un buen libro. (desliz: cuando la persona va primero, sin "to": he gave me a nice book)
- Emma Careful — when the person comes first, no "to". Say "he gave me a nice book". Cuidado — cuando la persona va primero, sin "to". Di "he gave me a nice book".
- Minsu Ah! He gave me a nice book. What should I give him? ¡Ah! Me dio un buen libro. ¿Qué le doy?
- Emma Give him a card and a small gift. Or give a gift to him at the party. Dale una tarjeta y un pequeño regalo. O dale un regalo a él en la fiesta.
- Minsu Good idea. I will give him a cake! Buena idea. ¡Le daré un pastel!
Dialogue
At the party — En la fiesta
- Jack Emma, thank you for coming! Everyone gave me lovely presents. Emma, ¡gracias por venir! Todos me dieron regalos preciosos.
- Emma Happy birthday, Jack! I made a cake for you. ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Jack! Te hice un pastel.
- Jack Wow! Did you give a card to Minsu too? He looks a little lost. ¡Vaya! ¿Le diste una tarjeta a Minsu también? Parece un poco perdido.
- Emma Yes, I gave him the address this morning. Look, he brought you a gift! Sí, le di la dirección esta mañana. ¡Mira, te trajo un regalo!
- Jack How kind! Please pass me that card. I want to read it. ¡Qué amable! Pásame esa tarjeta, por favor. Quiero leerla.
- Emma Here. Now blow out the candles and make a wish! Toma. ¡Ahora apaga las velas y pide un deseo!
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| party | n. | fiesta | |
| gift | n. | regalo | |
| present | n. | regalo | |
| birthday | n. | cumpleaños | |
| invite | v. | invitar | |
| guest | n. | invitado | |
| cake | n. | pastel, tarta | |
| candle | n. | vela | |
| celebrate | v. | celebrar | |
| card | n. | tarjeta | |
| surprise | n. | sorpresa | |
| give | v. | dar |
Grammar
"give" with two objects: give me a gift / give a gift to me "give" con dos objetos: give me a gift / give a gift to me
Many verbs of giving take TWO objects: the PERSON who receives, and the THING that is given. English has two ways to order them. Pattern A — person first, no "to": give + PERSON + THING: "I gave her a present", "She gave me a card", "Please give me your number". Pattern B — thing first, with "to": give + THING + "to" + PERSON: "I gave a present to her", "She gave a card to me". Both patterns mean exactly the same thing. Pattern B is handy when the thing is short and the person is new or long: "I gave it to my new teacher". Many verbs behave this way: "give", "send", "show", "tell", "teach", "bring" (and "buy", "make" use "for" instead of "to": "I bought a gift FOR her"). The key rule: in Pattern A, NEVER put "to" before the person. Many learners say "He gave to me a present" (marking the receiver the way their own language does) — but English drops "to" when the person comes first: "He gave to me a present" ✗ → "He gave me a present" ✓. Add "to" only when you switch to Pattern B: "He gave a present to me" ✓.
Muchos verbos de dar llevan DOS objetos: la PERSONA que recibe y la COSA que se da. El inglés tiene dos maneras de ordenarlos. Patrón A — persona primero, sin "to": give + PERSONA + COSA: "I gave her a present", "She gave me a card", "Please give me your number". Patrón B — cosa primero, con "to": give + COSA + "to" + PERSONA: "I gave a present to her", "She gave a card to me". Los dos patrones significan exactamente lo mismo. El Patrón B es útil cuando la cosa es corta y la persona es nueva o larga: "I gave it to my new teacher". Muchos verbos funcionan así: "give", "send", "show", "tell", "teach", "bring" (y "buy", "make" usan "for" en vez de "to": "I bought a gift FOR her"). La regla clave: en el Patrón A, NUNCA pongas "to" antes de la persona. Muchos aprendices dicen "He gave to me a present" (marcando al receptor como en su lengua) — pero cuando la persona va primero, el inglés quita el "to": "He gave to me a present" ✗ → "He gave me a present" ✓. Añade "to" solo al pasar al Patrón B: "He gave a present to me" ✓.
- I gave her a gift. Le di un regalo.
- She gave a card to me. Ella me dio una tarjeta a mí.
- Please give me your phone number. Por favor, dame tu número de teléfono.
- They gave the children some cake. Les dieron a los niños un poco de pastel.
- Can you give this present to Anna? ¿Puedes darle este regalo a Anna?
pronunciation
Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →