To or for someone: verb + thing + cho + person

Most verbs of sending, buying, selling or making put the thing first, then cho and the person: Em gửi tiền cho ba mẹ. I send money to my parents. Cho works like "to" or "for" here: Anh mua hoa cho vợ. I bought flowers for my wife.

When the thing is long, cho and the person can come straight after the verb, and the thing goes last: Chị gửi cho em cái hình hôm qua nha. Can you send me yesterday's photo? (In Hà Nội, ảnh.) Both orders are common in speech.

Two everyday uses: gọi cho is "phone someone": Tối anh gọi cho em nha. And làm cho or làm việc cho is "work for": Chị làm cho một công ty Nhật. I work for a Japanese company.

Cho means "for someone's benefit", so it doesn't translate the "for" in "wait for": chờ em (wait for me) needs nothing in between.

Cho as the main verb, "give", is different: the person comes first, cho em cái này. And with kể (tell a story), the person after cho is followed by nghe: Kể cho em nghe đi. Tell me.