to give gifts to
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to give gifts to
To give one or more gifts to a person, often on a special occasion. It emphasizes the act of giving and the joy one wants to bring someone.
Zu Weihnachten werden die Kinder reichlich beschenkt.
At Christmas, the children are given plenty of gifts.
The prefix 'be-' changes the sentence structure. Unlike with 'schenken' (to give someone something as a gift), the person who receives the gifts becomes the direct accusative object with 'beschenken' (to give gifts to).
Meine Tante hat mich reichlich beschenkt.
My aunt gave me plenty of gifts.
If you want to name the gift itself, use the preposition 'mit' followed by the dative. The structure is: give gifts to someone (accusative) with something (dative).
Er beschenkte seine Frau mit einer wunderschönen Kette.
He gave his wife a beautiful necklace as a gift.
The verb 'beschenken' is very often used in the passive to express that someone receives gifts. In this structure, the person receiving the gifts is the subject.
An seinem Geburtstag wurde er von allen mit Glückwünschen beschenkt.
On his birthday, he was showered with congratulations from everyone.
to give / pour
Schenken and beschenken both refer to giving a gift without expecting anything in return. With schenken, the recipient is usually in the dative: Man schenkt jemandem etwas. Beschenken takes the recipient in the accusative and focuses more strongly on the recipient and their enjoyment: Man beschenkt jemanden.
Zum Geburtstag beschenke ich meine Schwester mit einem Buch.
For my sister’s birthday, I’m giving her a book as a present.
Zum Geburtstag schenke ich meiner Schwester ein Buch.
For my sister’s birthday, I’m giving her a book.
