てくれる / てくださる

てくれる / てくださる Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Auxiliary Verb (Group 2)

Essential Meaning: Do X for me (as a favor / as an act of kindness)

Construction: 

• Verb て-Form + くれる
  • E.g. 話はなしてくれる [X speaks as a favor to me.]
  • E.g. 食たべてくれる [X eats as a favor to me.]

Notes:

• てくれる is used to describe situations where someone performs an action as a favor or act of kindness to the speaker (or someone with whom the speaker empathizes closely). てくれる roughly translates to “Do X for me.” てくださる is the honorific version of てくれる.

• In English, If I say “John lent me a book” or “John bought me a book“, it is implied that John performed the action as a favor to me. However, this implication does not carry over to Japanese; the idea of doing X as a favor must be made explicit, and てくれる serves that function.

• The same viewpoint rules that apply to the verb くれる also apply to てくれる. Namely, the first person (or person psychologically close to the first person) is the indirect object of the sentence; they are the receiver of the favor.
  • E.g. 知しらない人ひとが私わたしにコーラを買かってくれた。[A stranger bought me a cola (as a favor).] This sentence is OK because the first person is the indirect object of the sentence.
  • E.g. *私わたしは知しらない人ひとにコーラを買かってくれた。[I bought a stranger a cola (as a favor).] This example is ungrammatical because くれる cannot be used with a first person subject. あげる would be the appropriate verb choice in this case.

• Just as with くれる, with てくれる the indirect object is often omitted if it refers to the first person in declarative sentences or to the second person in interrogative sentences.
  • E.g. 母はははケーキを焼やいてくれた。[Mom baked me a cake.] Here, the first person indirect object plus its particle (i.e. 私わたしに) are omitted.
  • E.g. 子供こどもたちは何なにをしてくれましたか。[What did the kids do for you?] Here, the second person indirect object plus its particle (i.e. あなたに) are omitted.

• There are special cases when the person receiving the benefit is both the indirect object AND the direct object. For example, consider the sentence 道男みちおは私わたしに私わたしをなぐさめてくれた。[Michio did me the favor of consoling me]. In this sentence, the speaker is both the indirect object (i.e. 私わたしに) and the direct object (i.e. 私わたしを). In such instances, the indirect object is omitted and the direct object is left in place.
  • E.g. 道男みちおは私わたしをなぐさめてくれた。[Michio consoled me.] This example is correct because the indirect object was omitted, and the direct object remains.
  • E.g. *道男みちおは私わたしになぐさめてくれた。[Michio consoled me.] This example is incorrect for the opposite reason as above.

• When てくれる is paired with an intransitive verb (i.e. a verb that doesn’t take a direct object), the beneficiary of the action is marked by のために rather than by に.
  • E.g. *みんなは私わたしに働はたらいてくれた。[Everyone worked for me.] This sentence is ungrammatical because てくれる cannot be used with an intransitive verb.
  • E.g. みんなは私わたしのために働はたらいてくれた。[Everyone worked for my sake.]

Example Sentences:

父ちちは私わたしにカメラを買かってくれた。[My father bought me a camera.]

道男みちおは私わたしをなぐさめてくれた。[Michio consoled me.]

ジョンは私わたしの息子むすこに英語えいごを教おしえてくれている。[John is kindly teaching my son English.]

WILD Examples:

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