〜てくれる・〜てもらう
Giving actions, not things
Attach the three verbs to a て-form and the gift becomes an ACTION.
てつだってくれました
Someone did it for you — the sentence carries their kindness.
おしえてくれます
Same event from your camera — “I got someone to do it”.
てつだってもらいました
てつだって くれませんか。
いいですよ！
〜てくれます
The biggest unlock in Phase M: the “thing” being given can be an action. 〜てくれる means someone did it for you — and 〜てくれませんか is one of the most useful ways to ask for help in all of Japanese. Rusty on the て-form itself? Unit 9 has the full drill → 🔊 Tap to hear.
Attach くれる to a て-form and the “gift” becomes an action: someone did something FOR you, and the sentence carries their kindness. Plain 「てつだいました」 just reports; 「てつだってくれました」 says it was a favor to me.
〜てもらいます
Flip the camera one last time: 〜てもらう is receiving the action. Same afternoon, two sentences — ゆきさんが てつだってくれた ＝ わたしは ゆきさんに てつだってもらった. 🔊 Tap to hear.
Flip the camera and it's もらう again: I RECEIVED the action. 「ゆきさんが てつだってくれた」 and 「わたしは ゆきさんに てつだってもらった」 describe the same afternoon — くれる leads with their kindness, もらう leads with what I got.
〜てあげます
And outward: 〜てあげる, “I did it for them”. Use it with a light touch — said to someone's face it can sound like you're keeping score. Perfect for talking about what you did for someone else. 🔊 Tap to hear.
And outward: 〜てあげる = I did it FOR them. One honest warning — said to the person's face it can sound like you're keeping score (“I did this for you, remember?”). It's safest for talking ABOUT what you did for someone else, or among close friends.
Phase M まとめ
Ten questions across all of Phase M — things and favors, all three verbs, and the particles that steer them.
Question 1 / 10 · 0 correct