"Your birthday is coming up! What gift would you like?"

Translation: 你的生日快到了！你想要什么礼物？

[LeiFeiRalf]

What is the purpose of 了 here? It doesn't feel like a change of state, as the birthday is still in the future.

[jjprvt]

in the future, your birthday will change from "not arrived" to "arrived"

[RobinThor]

Is the 要 needed here? Would 你想什么礼物 also be okay?

[LIS564614]

The 要 (yào) is needed here in my opinion.
If you use 要 (yào) [need verb]only,it is a direct form to express one's immediate requirements,needs and tangible desire in a sense of urgency. If you choose the verbs 想要 (xiǎng yào) [want and need ] together,then it is a more polite form to express an individual's thoughts, enquiry, which is equivalent to English phrase (I would like to have). 想要 (xiǎng yào) phrase is very commonly applied in situations where foreigners, individuals who need Chinese people to assist in food ordering,travelling, business communication, shopping and customer services.
Ref:https://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/want-in-chinese/

[jamtintraders]

I dont understand the use of 了 here (nor the explanation below). Is it simply that 快到 just doesnt really stand alone?

[ThieumL]

快……了 means soon, almost. It sometimes translates as -ing as in getting (little by little), coming (soon), drawing near... Here are examples taken from Pleco: 快吃午饭了 (It's almost time for lunch); 天快黑了 (It's getting dark); 春节快到了 (The Spring Festival is drawing near)

[raeefai]

了 can also be used to signify a change of state. In this case changing the birthday from "not having arrived" to "has arrived"

[KolbyHowella]

快要到了

[Griff946223]

Is the 了really necessary here?

[hougineer]

快到 should not be grouped in a single card for the word bank. They are two separate ideas. If anything 到了 should be a single card.

[rimoll]

Is the possessive 'de' really needed here?

[Dasiy408141]

when we talk about things or animals or pets we usually don't drop de but with people we usually drop it.
like 我爸爸，我同学，我同事。
我的狗，我的手机，我的钱包

[Swansae]

grammatically, yes. colloquially, 的 is often dropped.

[StasioFigurka]

Can it be 快要你的生日了？
Like in: 快要考试了 - the exam is coming up (School section)

[Temba]

The 了 is pronounced (liao) by the program. At least for me

[Anarchostalinist]

Could I also say "你的生日来了！"?

[NicoleLove329]

Yeah.

[LIS564614]

"LE" modern Chinese grammar,used as a modal particle i believe, can be attached to the end of sentence to indicate a new situation or change of state. When using "LE" at the end of a sentence,after the verb "will soon BE arrivED" in this context, it shows that something has happened but there is a completion of the action needed(future perfect tense).

[Wim778259]

The suggested answer is not accepted, both with and without the punctuation marks.

[Wim778259]

Why suggest a correct answer and not accept it as correct?

[Wim778259]

The only accepted answer is the one without the exclamation mark, without spaces and with the question mark!