give me the salt / give it to me
give me the salt / give it to me means “Two objects: give me the salt (person first) or give the salt to me (thing first + to)”. Verbs like give, show, send, pass, teach and tell take two objects, in either of two orders: give + person + thing (Can you give me the salt. Formation: give/show/send + person + thing · give + thing + to + person
Two objects: give me the salt (person first) or give the salt to me (thing first + to)
A1Formation
give/show/send + person + thing · give + thing + to + person
Explanation
Verbs like give, show, send, pass, teach and tell take two objects, in either of two orders: give + person + thing (Can you give me the salt?) or give + thing + to + person (I sent a card to my grandmother). When the thing is a pronoun, use the to-pattern: give it to me.
Examples
Note
give me it sounds awkward — with a pronoun thing, say give it to me. Some verbs use for instead of to: buy a present for her.
FAQ
give me the salt / give it to me — what does it mean and how is it used?
Two objects: give me the salt (person first) or give the salt to me (thing first + to). Verbs like give, show, send, pass, teach and tell take two objects, in either of two orders: give + person + thing (Can you give me the salt?) or give + thing + to + person (I sent a card to my grandmother). When the thing is a pronoun, use the to-pattern: give it to me.
give me the salt / give it to me — how do you form it?
give/show/send + person + thing · give + thing + to + person
give me the salt / give it to me — any usage notes?
give me it sounds awkward — with a pronoun thing, say give it to me. Some verbs use for instead of to: buy a present for her.