Give is an irregular verb with three key forms: give as the base form, gave as the past simple, and given as the past participle. Use give for present and infinitive structures, gave for finished past actions, and given with auxiliary verbs like have or be. Mastering which form goes with which helper verb is the main goal of this module.

Use give for the infinitive and for present-time statements with I, you, we, and they. It also appears after modal verbs like can, will, and should, because modals use the base form. In questions and negatives with do and does, the main verb stays in the base form: do give, does give.

Subject	🇨🇳 中文 主语	Form	🇨🇳 中文 形式	Example	🇨🇳 中文 例句
I	🧑 我	give	📝 give	I give my sister a ride.	🗣️ 我给我的姐姐搭车。
You	🧑 你	give	📝 give	You give good advice.	🗣️ 你给出很好的建议。
He	🧑 他	gives	📝 gives	He gives me a call every week.	🗣️ 他每周给我打电话。
She	🧑 她	gives	📝 gives	She gives her time to charity.	🗣️ 她把时间捐给慈善机构。
It	🧑 它	gives	📝 gives	It gives a strange smell.	🗣️ 它散发出一种怪味。
We	🧑 我们	give	📝 give	We give our guests tea.	🗣️ 我们给客人茶。
They	🧑 他们	give	📝 give	They give discounts in winter.	🗣️ 他们在冬天提供折扣。

Use gave for the past simple to describe a completed action at a finished time in the past. It does not combine with have or has. It often appears with clear past time markers like yesterday, last week, or in 2019.

Subject	🇨🇳 中文 主语	Form	🇨🇳 中文 形式	Example	🇨🇳 中文 例句
I	🧑 我	gave	📝 gave	I gave him the keys yesterday.	🗣️ 我昨天把钥匙给了他。
You	🧑 你	gave	📝 gave	You gave me great feedback.	🗣️ 你给了我很好的反馈。
He	🧑 他	gave	📝 gave	He gave her a gift last month.	🗣️ 他上个月给了她一个礼物。
She	🧑 她	gave	📝 gave	She gave a short speech.	🗣️ 她做了一个简短的发言。
It	🧑 它	gave	📝 gave	The news gave us hope.	🗣️ 新闻给了我们希望。
We	🧑 我们	gave	📝 gave	We gave the waiter a tip.	🗣️ 我们给了服务员小费。
They	🧑 他们	gave	📝 gave	They gave us directions.	🗣️ 他们给了我们指引。

Use given as the past participle, mainly with auxiliary verbs. With have or has it forms the present perfect, and with had it forms the past perfect. Given can also appear in passive structures with be, focusing on the receiver or result rather than the doer.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 示例
Use have or has + given for present perfect	📌 使用 have 或 has + given 表示现在完成时	She has given me a chance.	🗣️ 她给了我一个机会。
Use had + given for past perfect	📌 使用 had + given 表示过去完成时	They had given us the wrong address.	🗣️ 他们曾经给了我们错误的地址。
Use be + given for passive voice	📌 使用 be + given 表示被动语态	The award was given to Maria.	🗣️ 奖项被授予给玛利亚。

Give commonly uses two patterns: give someone something and give something to someone. The first pattern is often more natural in everyday speech, especially with pronouns like me, him, and them. The second pattern is common when the thing is long or when you want to emphasize the receiver with to.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 例句
Indirect object first: give someone something	📌 间接宾语优先：give someone something	Give me your number.	🗣️ 给我你的号码。
Use to-phrase: give something to someone	📌 使用 to 短语：give something to someone	Give the book to your teacher.	🗣️ 把书给你的老师。
Prefer to when the receiver is long or emphasized	📌 当受领者较长或需要强调时，偏向使用 to	She gave the tickets to the people who arrived early.	🗣️ 她把票给了提前到达的人。

In the present, questions and negatives use do or does, and the main verb stays give. In the past, questions and negatives use did, and the main verb still stays give, not gave. Only the auxiliary shows the tense in these structures.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 示例
Present question: do or does + give	📌 现在时疑问句：do 或 does + give	Do you give your dog treats?	🗣️ 你会给你的狗零食吗？
Present negative: do not or does not + give	📌 现在时否定：do not 或 does not + give	He does not give excuses.	🗣️ 他不找借口。
Past question: did + give	📌 过去时疑问句：did + give	Did she give you the file?	🗣️ 她把文件给你了吗？
Past negative: did not + give	📌 过去时否定：did not + give	We did not give them our address.	🗣️ 我们没有把地址给他们。

Perfect tenses use given, not gave, because perfect aspect requires a past participle. The auxiliary have carries the tense, while given stays the same. This helps you choose correctly: if you see have, has, or had, the next form is given.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 示例
Present perfect: have or has + given	📌 现在完成时：have 或 has + given	I have given you enough time.	🗣️ 我已经给了你足够的时间。
Past perfect: had + given	📌 过去完成时：had + given	She had given her answer before the call ended.	🗣️ 她在通话结束前已经给出答案。
Future perfect: will have + given	📌 将来完成时：will have + given	They will have given us an update by Friday.	🗣️ 他们将在周五之前给出更新。

The passive of give uses given and a form of be. Use it when the focus is on what was given or to whom it was given, and the giver is unknown, unimportant, or mentioned later with by. In passive sentences with two objects, you can often choose either object as the subject depending on what you want to emphasize.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 示例
Basic passive: be + given	📌 基本被动：be + given	The instructions were given clearly.	🗣️ 指示被清晰地给出。
Receiver as subject	📌 将接收者作为主语	She was given a scholarship.	🗣️ 她获得了奖学金。
Thing as subject	📌 事物作为主语	A scholarship was given to her.	🗣️ 奖学金被她获得。
Optional agent with by	📌 可选施事者 with by	The prize was given by the mayor.	🗣️ 奖项由市长授予。

Given also functions as an adjective and as a preposition-like word in formal speech. As an adjective, it means specified or particular. As a discourse marker, given can mean considering or taking into account, often used to introduce a reason or condition.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 例句
Adjective: given means particular or specified	📌 形容词：given 表示特定或指明的	At any given time, one manager is on call.	🗣️ 在任一时刻，只有一名经理在值班。
Formal connector: given means considering	📌 正式连接词：given 表示考虑	Given the weather, we will stay home.	🗣️ 考虑到天气，我们将呆在家里。

Give is not only about handing an object to someone; it also expresses causing an effect and providing an opportunity. These meanings follow the same form rules: give in the base, gave in the past, and given in participle structures. Recognizing these extended meanings helps you understand common everyday sentences.

Word/Phrase	🇨🇳 中文 词/短语	Definition	🇨🇳 中文 定义	Example	🇨🇳 中文 示例
give someone a hand	🧩 给某人一把手	help someone	🧾 帮助某人	Can you give me a hand with this box?	🗣️ 你能帮我一把吗？
give someone a call	🧩 给某人打电话	call someone	🧾 给某人打电话	I will give you a call tonight.	🗣️ 今晚我会给你打电话。
give someone a chance	🧩 给某人一个机会	allow an opportunity	🧾 给一个机会	They gave her a chance to explain.	🗣️ 他们给了她解释的机会。
give a speech	🧩 发表演讲	deliver a speech	🧾 演讲	He gave a speech at the ceremony.	🗣️ 他在典礼上发表了演讲。