Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 238):
Recipients and Clients occur in systemically different environments. Recipients occur only in ‘transitive transformative’ clauses of the ‘extending’ type; and within that category, they occur with those clauses that denote a transfer of the Actor’s possession of goods – transfer to the Recipient. Here the Goal represents the ‘goods’ being transferred.
Blogger Comment:
Consider the intransitive instances But I gave generously to you. Won't you now give to me in return?