Double-Object Constructions in Cantonese

In Brief

Cantonese can put a recipient directly after certain verbs: verb + recipient + thing, as in 佢教我廣東話 “They teach me Cantonese.” It can also mark the recipient with 俾 (bei2), especially after the thing transferred: verb + thing + 俾 + recipient, as in 寄封信俾佢 “send them a letter.” The available pattern depends on the verb and the intended meaning; the two orders are not interchangeable in every sentence.

Overview

A double-object construction contains two objects after one verb. An object is a person or thing affected by the action. In 我問咗佢一個問題 “I asked them a question,” 佢 is the indirect object—the person addressed—and 一個問題 is the direct object—the thing asked. In plain terms, the usual order is “do something + to whom + what.”

Cantonese also has a dative construction, meaning a pattern that marks the receiver, destination, or beneficiary of an action. The common marker is 俾 (bei2): 我寄咗封信俾佢 “I sent a letter to them.” Here the thing comes first and the recipient follows 俾. This resembles English alternations such as “send her a letter” and “send a letter to her,” but English intuition is only a guide: Cantonese verbs differ in which patterns they naturally allow.

At B2, the important step is not merely memorizing two formulas. You need to recognize whether the second participant is a recipient, an addressee, a learner, or a beneficiary, and then choose the construction that fits the verb. This matters constantly in requests, favors, lessons, messages, purchases, and transfers of objects.

How It Works

Pattern 1: verb + indirect object + direct object

The first main pattern places the person directly after the verb:

subject + verb + recipient/addressee + thing or information

Part	Cantonese	Function
Subject	佢	the person doing the action
Verb	教	“teach”
Indirect object	我	the learner: “me”
Direct object	廣東話	what is taught: “Cantonese”

The complete sentence is 佢教我廣東話 “They teach me Cantonese.” No equivalent of English “to” is needed before 我.

This compact order is especially important with verbs such as:

Verb	Jyutping	Typical relation	Example frame
俾	bei2	give a recipient something	俾我杯水
教	gaau3	teach a learner something	教我廣東話
問	man6	ask a person something	問佢一個問題
話	waa6	tell a person information	話你知呢件事

Classifiers remain part of the noun phrase. In 俾杯水我, 杯水 means “a glass of water”; in 問佢一個問題, 一個問題 is one complete noun phrase. Aspect markers such as 咗 (zo2, completed event) attach to the verb, not between the two objects: 問咗佢一個問題.

With 俾 as the verb “give,” everyday Cantonese allows both 俾我杯水 and 俾杯水我. The first transparently follows recipient-before-thing order. The second puts the thing before the recipient and is very common in short requests such as 俾杯水我. Because 俾 can itself mean “give,” do not assume that every occurrence after a noun is merely an English-like preposition.

Pattern 2: verb + direct object + 俾 + recipient

When an action causes something to reach another person, Cantonese commonly uses:

subject + verb + thing + 俾 + recipient

In this pattern, 俾 introduces the receiver or destination:

Part	Cantonese	Function
Subject	我	sender
Verb + aspect	寄咗	“sent”
Direct object	封信	thing sent
Dative phrase	俾佢	recipient: “to them”

The result is 我寄咗封信俾佢 “I sent them a letter / I sent a letter to them.” This pattern is natural with actions such as sending, bringing, buying, writing, leaving, or preparing something for another person:

• 寄封信俾佢 — send them a letter
• 買份早餐俾你 — buy you breakfast
• 寫張卡俾老師 — write a card to the teacher
• 留個位俾我 — save a seat for me

The participant after 俾 may be a receiver or a person who benefits. 我買咗本書俾阿妹 can mean “I bought my younger sister a book”: she benefits from the purchase and is normally understood as its intended recipient.

Choosing between the patterns

A useful working guide is:

Meaning and verb type	Usual pattern	Example
give someone something	俾 + person + thing; also 俾 + thing + person	俾我杯水 / 俾杯水我
teach someone a subject or skill	教 + learner + content	教我廣東話
ask someone a question	問 + person + question	問佢一個問題
send, buy, write, keep, or prepare something for someone	verb + thing + 俾 + person	寄封信俾佢

Do not treat this table as a mechanical conversion rule. 問佢一個問題 means “ask them a question,” but 問一個問題俾佢 is not the normal way to express that meaning. Depending on context, adding 俾佢 after another verb may instead mean doing something for that person.

Pronouns, names, and longer objects

Either object can be a pronoun, a name, or a fuller noun phrase:

• 教細路仔英文 — teach children English
• 問陳小姐幾個問題 — ask Ms. Chan several questions
• 寄啲資料俾新同事 — send some information to the new colleague

When both objects are long, the thing + 俾 + recipient pattern can make the roles easier to hear. Cantonese relies on word order and context rather than noun endings to identify those roles.

Negation, aspect, and commands

The object pattern stays in place when the clause is negated or marked for aspect:

• 我未寄份文件俾佢。 — I haven’t sent the document to them yet.
• 佢冇教我呢個方法。 — They didn’t teach me this method.
• 我問過佢兩次。 — I have asked them twice.

In commands, the subject is often omitted because the listener is understood:

• 俾杯水我。 — Give me a glass of water.
• 寄封信俾佢。 — Send them a letter.
• 唔好話佢知。 — Don’t tell them.

Examples in Context

Cantonese	Jyutping	English	Note
俾杯水我。	bei2 bui1 seoi2 ngo5.	Give me a glass of water.	俾 as “give”; thing before recipient in a request
可唔可以俾我一張紙？	ho2 m4 ho2 ji5 bei2 ngo5 jat1 zoeng1 zi2?	Could you give me a sheet of paper?	Recipient before thing
佢教我廣東話。	keoi5 gaau3 ngo5 gwong2 dung1 waa2.	They teach me Cantonese.	Learner before subject taught
老師教咗我哋一個新句式。	lou5 si1 gaau3 zo2 ngo5 dei6 jat1 go3 san1 geoi3 sik1.	The teacher taught us a new sentence pattern.	咗 marks the completed teaching event
我問咗佢一個問題。	ngo5 man6 zo2 keoi5 jat1 go3 man6 tai4.	I asked them a question.	Addressee before question
你可以問職員詳情。	nei5 ho2 ji5 man6 zik1 jyun4 coeng4 cing4.	You can ask the staff member for details.	The requested information follows the person
寄封信俾佢。	gei3 fung1 seon3 bei2 keoi5.	Send them a letter.	Thing followed by 俾 + recipient
我聽日會寄啲文件俾你。	ngo5 ting1 jat6 wui5 gei3 di1 man4 gin2 bei2 nei5.	I’ll send you some documents tomorrow.	Future context; recipient marked by 俾
阿哥買咗份早餐俾我。	aa3 go1 maai5 zo2 fan6 zou2 caan1 bei2 ngo5.	My older brother bought me breakfast.	Beneficiary and intended recipient
麻煩留兩個位俾我哋。	maa4 faan4 lau4 loeng5 go3 wai2 bei2 ngo5 dei6.	Please save two seats for us.	Beneficiary after 俾
我寫咗張生日卡俾嫲嫲。	ngo5 se2 zo2 zoeng1 saang1 jat6 kaat1 bei2 maa4 maa4.	I wrote a birthday card to Grandma.	Recipient of a written item
佢話我知會遲啲到。	keoi5 waa6 ngo5 zi1 wui5 ci4 di1 dou3.	They told me they would arrive a little later.	Fixed, common 話 + person + 知 pattern
唔好話佢知呢件事。	m4 hou2 waa6 keoi5 zi1 ni1 gin6 si6.	Don’t tell them about this.	Negative command

Common Mistakes

Copying English “to” with every verb

• Wrong: 我問一個問題俾佢。 (intended: “I asked them a question.”)
• Right: 我問佢一個問題。
• Why: With 問, the addressee normally comes directly after the verb. English permits “ask a question of someone,” but that does not make 俾 the default Cantonese marker here.

Reversing the objects after 教

• Wrong: 老師教英文我哋。
• Right: 老師教我哋英文。
• Why: In the ordinary double-object pattern, 教 is followed by the learner and then what is taught.

Omitting 俾 after transfer verbs

• Wrong: 我寄咗封信佢。
• Right: 我寄咗封信俾佢。
• Why: With 寄, the recipient is normally introduced by 俾 when it follows the item sent.

Misplacing an aspect marker

• Wrong: 我問佢咗一個問題。
• Right: 我問咗佢一個問題。
• Why: The perfective marker 咗 follows the verb 問, before its objects.

Reading every 俾 as “give”

• Misreading: Taking 我買咗份早餐俾佢 as two unrelated actions, “I bought breakfast and gave them.”
• Better reading: 我買咗份早餐俾佢。 — “I bought them breakfast.”
• Why: After the thing, 俾 + person often marks the intended recipient or beneficiary of the main action. Context can still imply an actual handover, but the construction is not simply two fully stated verbs.

Usage Notes

Both 俾 and 畀 are used in writing for bei2. 畀 is often preferred as the character for the Cantonese verb and dative marker, while 俾 is extremely widespread in informal writing, messaging, subtitles, and learner materials. They represent the same spoken syllable in the constructions taught here. This article follows 俾 because that is the form used in the concept examples; be ready to recognize 畀我, 寄畀佢, and similar spellings.

Spoken Cantonese frequently omits information that is already obvious. 俾我 can mean “give it to me” when the item is visible, and 我寄咗俾佢 can mean “I sent it to them” when the object has already been mentioned. Such omission is context-driven; when introducing new information, state the relevant object.

English singular “they” is used in the translations because Cantonese 佢 does not distinguish “he” from “she” in speech. Similarly, 佢哋 means “they” without grammatical gender. This has no effect on double-object word order.

Short commands such as 俾杯水我 can sound direct. Cantonese commonly softens requests with 唔該 “please/thanks for a service,” 麻煩你 “could I trouble you,” or a question frame such as 可唔可以…？ “could you…?” The grammar of the objects remains the same.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Recipient versus beneficiary

The phrase after 俾 is not always a literal receiver. Compare:

• 我寄咗份文件俾佢。 — I sent the document to them. They are the recipient.
• 我整理咗份文件俾佢。 — I organized the document for them. They benefit from the work.

World knowledge and the main verb determine the relationship. A document can be sent to somebody, while organizing it is more naturally done for somebody. English switches between “to” and “for”; Cantonese can use 俾 in both cases.

Ambiguity and clearer alternatives

Because 俾 also has other grammatical uses, context matters. It can mean “give,” introduce a recipient or beneficiary, and occur in passive constructions. If a sentence risks confusion, speakers can choose a more explicit verb or split the information into two clauses. For a clear benefactive meaning, 幫 (bong1, “help; do for”) is often useful:

• 我幫佢買咗份早餐。 — I bought breakfast for them / helped them buy breakfast.
• 我買咗份早餐俾佢。 — I bought them breakfast.

These overlap, but their focus differs. 幫佢 foregrounds acting on the person’s behalf; final 俾佢 foregrounds the person for whom the item is intended.

Information structure

Word order also guides attention. Putting the recipient immediately after verbs such as 問 and 教 closely links that person to the action. Putting a substantial item first and adding 俾 + recipient afterward can make a long sentence easier to process. In conversation, stress, pauses, and what has already been mentioned also influence which part feels new or important.

Do not force every sentence into both patterns merely for variety. Natural Cantonese favors particular pairings: 教人內容, 問人問題, but commonly 寄物件俾人 and 買物件俾人. Learning a verb together with its full frame is more reliable than learning the verb alone.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-slot cards. Write prompts such as “ask + coworker + one question” and produce 問同事一個問題. Then change only one slot at a time: the person, the thing, or the aspect marker.
2. Sort by verb frame. Keep one list for verb + person + thing (教, 問, 俾) and another for verb + thing + 俾 + person (寄, 買, 寫, 留). Say a complete example whenever you add a verb.
3. Practice real requests aloud. Use objects around you: 可唔可以俾我嗰本書？ “Could you give me that book?” Add 唔該, 麻煩你, or a question frame so that word order and politeness become one habit.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Verbs and Word Order — reviews basic Cantonese subject–verb–object order before a second object is added.