"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"

[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)

[RobinThor]

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

[IvyYoung6]

想means "think", 要 means "want". when想 要are used together means "would like"

[WantsomeLingo]

I think the reason a bit more sophisticated, perhaps it's because when 想 is used to mean wish/want/would like it's usually acting on a verb rather than a noun. We all know 想 is at times best translated as "want", just trying to find a pattern.

[KolbyHowella]

快要到了

[Griff946223]

Is the 了really necessary here?

[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.

[duxtuxidrruszr]

Gggggggggvuy