Helping Verbs

A couple lessons ago I learned about how the verbs あげる, くれる, and もらう function when discussing the action of giving. Well, these words can also be used in conjunction with other verbs to discuss the giving and receiving of services.

To describe such actions, the て form plus the appropriate helping verb is used, conjugated for tense, politeness, and all that good stuff.

Just as before, あげる is used when the action is "going outward" - I do something for you, you do something for others, somebody does something for somebody else. In these sentences, the giver is the subject while the receiver is marked with a particle that varies with the verb.

私はアヤトに生け花を送ってあげたよ。
I sent Ayato flowers (because I didn't want him to be sad).

If the あげる portion were removed from that sentence, it would sound more like an objective statement. Its presence adds a sort of acknowledgment that the action was performed for the sake of that person.

くれる is used when the action is coming inward - you do something for me, somebody else does something for me. With くれる, because the speaker is the implied receiver, they generally would not specify themselves in the sentence. And again, the giver is the subject.

ライトが用事を手伝ってくれた。
Laito helped me with errands (for which I am thankful).

Again, if the くれる part were missing, it would sound like I'm merely reporting what Laito did. The くれる places emphasis on the fact that he did it as a favor for me.

Finally, もらう is used "to say that we get, persuade, or arrange for somebody to do something for us", according to Genki. In this case, the receiver is the subject, while the person helping us out is marked with the に particle.

私はカナトに店に連れていってもらった。
I got Kanato to take me to the store.

It's fairly easy to see the difference between くれる and もらう here. In both cases I received help from another person, but with もらう, I am the subject, leading to the "I got X to help me" meaning.

There are some verbs that don't lend themselves to this grammar construct. As Genki says, for a verb "which does not have the place for the beneficiary, we can use のために." We do not use the helping verbs in this case.

私はアリスのためにせんたくした。
I did laundry for Alice.

スバルは私のために買い物に行った。
Subaru went shopping for me.

The のために sounds like "for this person's benefit" to me, so it's fairly easy to remember and understand.

Finally, there's one last point to be made with もらう. Although the grammar makes it sound like I've actively asked somebody to do something for me, that doesn't always have to be the case. It can also be used to "acknowledge a person's goodwill." I'll use Genki's example sentence.

私は知らない人に漢字を読んでもらいました。
I am glad that a stranger read the kanji for me.