"give somebody something" and "give something to somebody"

[tzfujimino]

Hello.:-D
I have a question as to the usage of "give somebody something" and "give something to somebody".

1. I gave him the book.
2. I gave the book to him.

I'm sure #1 and #2 mean the same. However, I suspect each sentence should be used in the appropriate context.
I'd like to know how to use each of them correctly. Please look at the sentences below:

I went to a bookstore yesterday and bought a book. I gave the book/it to him this morning. I feel it's OK.

I went to a bookstore yesterday and bought a book. I gave him the book this morning. It is grammatical, but I don't feel it's quite natural.

Do I understand it correctly?
Thank you.

 

[Uteacher]

Hi,

I feel i gave him the book is correct.

 

[Rover_KE]

I feel "I gave him the book" is correct.

Please use correct capitalisation and punctuation.

 

[Tdol]

I went to a bookstore yesterday and bought a book. I gave him the book this morning. It is grammatical, but I don't feel it's quite natural.

It's perfectly natural.

 

[tzfujimino]

Thank you, Tdol.:-D

Is there a situation/context where one is preferred over the other?

 

[Tdol]

In everyday usage, give someone something is more common.

 

[tzfujimino]

Thank you.:-D

Please allow me to ask one more question.
If I were asked "Who did you give the book to?", would it be OK to use both "I gave him the book." and "I gave the book to him." with the stress on 'him'?

Thank you again.

 

[Barb_D]

If you were asked "Who did you give the book to?" then it would be more natural to say "Him" or "To him" or "I gave it to him" but if you did write the whole thing, then "I gave the book to him" sounds more natural to me.

 

[probus]

I can see nothing to choose: both seem equally natural to me.

 

[tzfujimino]

Hello, probus.
Thank you for your reply.:-D

Are you referring to my original post (#1) or #7?
Or both?

 

[probus]

I was referring to the original post. I don't understand post #7, regarding "the emphasis on him."

 

[tzfujimino]

I was referring to the original post. I don't understand post #7, regarding "the emphasis on him."

Thank you, probus.:-D

By 'with the stress on him', I meant "with the stress on the pronoun 'him' (when speaking)".
I was talking about the pronunciation.