(2023) ИЗУЧЕНИЕ ЯЗЫКОВ | ЯЗЫКИ ВОСТОКА | ЯПОНСКИЙ III/422

Languages Study | Languages of the East | Japanese III

АУДИО 422 | GRAMMAR II - 16.01 : ~te kureru / ageru / morau

...てくれる/あげる/もらう  - ~te kureru / ageru / morau

The verbs くれる、あげる、and もらう describe transactions of things.
When these verbs follow the te-form of a verb, they describe the giving and receiving of services.

te-form + あげる - ageru ("to raise up"):
I do something for you,
you do something for others,
I do something for others,
somebody does something for somebody else

te-form + くれる- kureru ("to come"):
Somebody does something for me,
you do something for me,
somebody does something for you

We use the te-form + あげる - ageru when we do something for the sake of others,
or somebody does something for somebody else.

The addition of the helping verb あげる does not change the basic meaning of the sentences,
but puts focus on the fact that the actions were performed "on demand" or "as a favor"

I (generously) lent my sister money (to help her out of her destitute conditions).
 

Kyoko (kindly) took Tom to the station (because he would be lost if left all by himself).

kyooko-san-wa, tomu-san-o
eki-ni tsurete itte agemashita.

kyooko-san-wa, tomu-san-o
eki-ni tsurete ikimashita.

Note that in ageru sentences the nouns referring on the beneficiaries are accompanied by whatever particle the main verb calls for.
kasu goes with the particle ni, while tsurete-iku goes with wo [o].
These particles are retained in the ageru sentences.
When you want to add the idea of "doing somebody a favor" to a verb which does not have the place for the beneficiary,
you can use ~no tameni.

We use くれる - kureru when somebody does something for us.

A relative sent me cookies. (I should be so lucky.)

The beneficiary is almost always understood to be the speaker in kureru sentences.
Therefore it usually does not figure grammatically.
If you have to explicitly state who received the benefit,
you can follow the same strategies employed in ageru sentences.
That is, if the main verb has the place for the person receiving the benefit, keep the particle that goes with it.
The verb tsurete-iku calls for wo [o], while oshieru calls for ni, for example.

きょうこさんが私を
駅に連れていってくれました。

Compare: ... me to the station take..

takeshi-san-ga watashi-ni
kanji-o oshiete kuremashita.

watashi-ni kanji-o oshieru

If the main verb does not have the place for the person, use ~no tameni.
sooji-suru is one such verb.

ken-san-ga watashi-no tameni
heya-o sooji-shite kuremashita.

We use the te-form + もらう - morau to say that we get, persuade or arrange for somebody to do something for us.
The person performing the action for us is accompanied by the particle ni.

watashi-wa, tomodachi-ni shukudai-o
tetsudatte moraimashita.

Compare the last sentence with the kureru version below.
They describe more or less the same event, but the subjects are different.
In morau sentences, the subject is the beneficiary.
In kureru sentences, the subject is the benefactor.

tomodachi-ga shukudai-o
tetsudatte kuremashita.

Sometimes, a morau sentence simply acknowledges a person's goodwill in doing something for us.
For example, you can say the following even if you had not actively asked for any assistance.
(The sentence is of course okay with the "get somebody to do" reading.)

I [am glad that] a strangers read the kanji for me.

watashi-wa, shiranai hito-ni
kanji-wo yonde moraimashita.