Sentence Structure - Giving and receiving

Giving

上げる（あげる）・差し上げる（さしあげる）・やる

thing

The standard way to say that you are giving something to someone in Japanese is to use the verb 上げる（あげる）. The sentence structure is fairly easy to remember:

• (Giver) は (Receiver) に (Item or Gift) を あげる。

Of course, rules for politeness and tense affect the way you conjugate the verb あげる:

1. 私は妹にお菓子をあげる。（わたしはいもうとにおかしをあげる）// I give my sister candy. (plain form)
2. 友達はお母さんにカードをあげた。（ともだちはおかあさんにかーどをあげた）// My friend gave his mom a card. (plain form)
3. 毎週、彼女は先生に林檎をあげます。（まいしゅう、かのじょはせんせいにりんごをあげます）// Every week she gives an apple to the teacher. (polite form)
4. 私達は猫にボールをあげました。（わたしたちはねこにぼーるをあげました）// We gave the cat a ball. (polite form)

There are several other ways to express giving though.　One of them is to use the verb　差し上げる（さしあげる）．You use this when talking about giving something to a superior. when talking about giving something to a superior. Example:

1. 私は先生に本を差し上げます。（わたしはせんせいにほんをさしあげます）// I give the teacher the book.

There's one more way to express giving. This is done by the verb やる which literarely means "Do". You should be very careful with this verb though, since it is very informal. Example:

1. 私はトシオにケーキやった。（わたしはとしおにけーきやった）// I gave toshio cake.

service

You can also attach a verb of giving to the 〜て form of verbs, which means that you did something for someone. The subject of the sentence must always be the speaker/the giver. Take a look at this structure:

• (Speaker) は (Verb in 〜て form) (Verb of receiving)。

Examples of this in English would be, "I washed the car for her," or, "I did the laundry for him." Here are some examples in Japanese:

1. 私はアパートの掃除をしてあげました。（わたしはあぱーとのそうじをしてあげました）// I cleaned the apartment (for him/her). (polite form)
2. 私は晩ご飯を作ってあげた。(わたしはばんごはんをつくってあげた）// I made dinner (for him or her). (plain form)

Receiving

もらう・下さる（くださる）・くれる・いただく

thing

To say that you have received something, you use the verb もらう. もらう is a passive verb, while あげる is an active verb, so the stucture of a sentence using もらう is a little different than one using あげる. You know now that you only use あげる when the subject is the giver. Likewise, you only use もらう when the subject is the receiver. Here are examples:

• (Receiver) は (Giver) に (Item or Gift) を もらう。

or

• (Receiver) は (Giver) から (Item or Gift) を もらう。

Although に is slightly more casual, you can use both に and から when you recieve some THING (You don't use から for service. See below). You may use から especially when you would like to emphasize the giver.

Of course, rules for verb tense and politeness affect what form of もらう you use:

1. クリスマスが来たら、お婆ちゃんに新車をもらうと思う。（くりすますがきたら、おばあちゃんにしんしゃをもらうとおもう）// When Christmas comes, I think I'll get a new car from grandma. (plain form)
2. 誕 生日に、梓はお父さんから250,000円をもらったそうです！ (たんじょうびに、あずさはおとうさんから250,000えんをもらったそうです！）// For her birthday, I heard that Azusa received 250,000 yen from her dad! (polite form)
3. 彼 女は王子と結婚したら、女王に多くの宝石をもらいます。（かのじょはおうじとけっこんしたら、じょおうにおおくのほうせきをもらいます）// When she marries the prince, she will receive many jewels from the queen. (polite form)
4. お母さんに新しいパソコンをもらいました！（おかあさんにあたらしいぱそこんをもらいました）// I got a new computer from my mother! (polite form)

There are three other verbs which you can express receiving with.　The verb くれる is most commonly used. It's neither impolite nor polite. You will often use this verb when you've gotten something from someone who isn't currently there. Example:

1. 彼は先生にお茶をくれた。（かれはせんせいにおちゃおくれた）// He got tea from the teacher.

Another verb which is used when expressing receiving is 下さる（くださる）, this is a more polite version, and you would use this if you would recieve something of a person who is currently around you, or when you are talking to him.

Examples:

1. 私は岸子に漫画を下さいました。（わたしはきしこにまんがをくださいました）// I received a manga from kishiko.
2. 私はあなたにビデオを下さいます。（わたしはあなたにびでおをくださいました）// I get a video from you.

The verb いただく is a humble verb, and is only used when you receive something from a superior.

Example:

1. 私は先生にペンをいただきました。（わたしはせんせいにぺんをいただきました）// I received a pen from the teacher.

service

You can also attach the verbs for receiving to the 〜て form of a verb to say that you received the verb (such as a service or something of that nature) from them. For example, "The dentist examined my teeth for me," or "Mom cleaned up my room for me." Once again, you can only use the verbs of receiving in this case if the subject of the sentence is the one receiving the service. If the subject of the sentence is actually doing the service, then you use the verbs for giving. Here are some examples:

1. 医者に診てもらいました。（はいしゃにみてもらいました）// The doctor examined me (for me). (polite form)
2. 彼氏に新しい車を買ってもらった！（かれしにあたらしいくるまをかってもらった）// My boyfriend bought a new car for me! (plain form)

In this case, you do not use から instead of に, because what you gain in this form is not a thing but a service.

Source: elanguageschool.net