<p>Sometimes it is not possible to just build an expression without changing the meaning of the rest of the sentence. I would translate these into English as:</p>

<ol>
<li>Give me (a/the) present (给我礼物)</li>
<li>A/the present to give to who? (给谁的礼物)</li>
<li>This is a present to give to who? (这是给谁的礼物)</li>
</ol>

<p>If it was the expressions that you intended:</p>

<ol>
<li>Give me a present (给我礼物)</li>
<li>Give who a present? (给谁礼物)</li>
<li>Whose present is this? (这是谁的礼物)</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-23T22:30:00.230Z
2015-03-23T22:30:00.230Z
Michael Lai
<p>I am Cindy, a native Chinese teacher from iChineseLearning.
This would be the correct translation:
1. 给我礼物  - Give me (a) present.
2. 给谁的礼物 - Whom is (this) present for?
3. 这是给谁的礼物？ 
The third sentence actually has the same meaning as the second one. It just put an emphasis on 这 (this).</p>

<p>If you have further questions, you can raise your question at here: <a href="http://www.ichineselearning.com/learn/ask-a-question.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ichineselearning.com/learn/ask-a-question.html</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-24T01:48:05.173Z
2015-03-24T01:48:05.173Z
Cindy Li
<p>Literally, following Chinese syntax: This is give who(m) 的 present. </p>

<p>English: Who is this present for?</p>

<p>So I would say 1 and 2 are correct, but 3 might be better as above.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-23T03:47:38.510Z
2015-03-23T03:47:38.510Z
Pedroski
<p>Yet another sentence where I know all the words but can't work out the correct meaning!</p>

<p>In one of my textbooks I have a series of phrases:</p>

<ol>
<li>给我礼物 </li>
<li>给谁的礼物</li>
<li>这是给谁的礼物？</li>
</ol>

<p>Would I be correct in translating these into English as:</p>

<ol>
<li>Give me a present</li>
<li>Give who a present</li>
<li>Whose present is this?</li>
</ol>

<p>I remember learning something last semester about sentences where the verb can come before the subject in order to emphasise the action and have a suspicion that this might be relevant but can't seem to use that idea to translate the phrases/sentences in a way which is convincing to me.</p>

<p>Thanks for your help in advance,
Andrew</p>

<grammar><meaning><sentence-structure>
What is the meaning of 这是给谁的礼物？
# What is the meaning of 这是给谁的礼物？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-03-23)

Yet another sentence where I know all the words but can't work out the correct meaning!

In one of my textbooks I have a series of phrases:

1. 给我礼物
2. 给谁的礼物
3. 这是给谁的礼物？

Would I be correct in translating these into English as:

1. Give me a present
2. Give who a present
3. Whose present is this?

I remember learning something last semester about sentences where the verb can come before the subject in order to emphasise the action and have a suspicion that this might be relevant but can't seem to use that idea to translate the phrases/sentences in a way which is convincing to me.

Thanks for your help in advance,
Andrew

**Tags:** grammar, meaning, sentence-structure


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-03-23. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

Literally, following Chinese syntax: This is give who(m) 的 present.

English: Who is this present for?

So I would say 1 and 2 are correct, but 3 might be better as above.


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### Answer by username_1 on 2015-03-23. Score: 0

Sometimes it is not possible to just build an expression without changing the meaning of the rest of the sentence. I would translate these into English as:

1. Give me (a/the) present (给我礼物)
2. A/the present to give to who? (给谁的礼物)
3. This is a present to give to who? (这是给谁的礼物)

If it was the expressions that you intended:

1. Give me a present (给我礼物)
2. Give who a present? (给谁礼物)
3. Whose present is this? (这是谁的礼物)


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### Answer by username_2 on 2015-03-24. Score: 0

I am username_2, a native Chinese teacher from iChineseLearning.
This would be the correct translation:
1. 给我礼物 - Give me (a) present.
2. 给谁的礼物 - Whom is (this) present for?
3. 这是给谁的礼物？
The third sentence actually has the same meaning as the second one. It just put an emphasis on 这 (this).

If you have further questions, you can raise your question at here: <http://www.ichineselearning.com/learn/ask-a-question.html>


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