2008 年 3 月 6日
Giving and Receiving
あげます、 もらいます and くれます are used to refer to the giving and receiving of actions
as well as those of things. They indicate who is doing that act for whom,
while also expressing a sense of goodwill or gratitude. In this case, the
act is expressed by verb て form.
Verb て form + あげます
This indicates that one does something for somebody with a sense of goodwill.
However when the speaker is the actor and the listener is the receiver of
of the act, this expression could give the impression that the speaker is
being patronising. You are, therefore, advised to avoid using this expression
directly to someone who you do not know very well, or who is senior or superior
to you. When you offer assistance to someone who is not very close, verb
ます form ましょうか is used.
- 私 は 田山 さん に 本 を かして あげました。 - I lent Mr. Tayama a book.
Verb て form + もらいます
This expression conveys a sense of gratitude on the part of those
who receive a favour.
- 私 は 山田 さん に としょかん の でんわばんごう を おしえて もらいました。 - Mr. Yamada told me the
telephone number of the library.
Verb て form + くれます
Like verb て form + もらいます, this expression also conveys a sense of gratitude
on the part of those who receive a favour. The difference is that verb
て form + もらいます has the receiver of the act as the subject of the sentence,
while verb て form + くれます has the actor as the subject of the sentence,
implying that the actor (subject) voluntarily takes the action. The receiver
of the act in the latter case is often the speaker, and 私 is often
omitted.
- はは は セーター を おくって くれました。 - My mother sent me a sweater.
あげます means to give, but cannot be used when somebody else gives something
to the speaker or the speaker's family. In this case, くれます is used.