Someone Does For Me (〜てくれる)
〜てくれる
Expresses that someone does something for the speaker's benefit. Emphasizes the giver's kindness from the receiver's perspective.
Pattern
[Person が] Verb て-form + くれる
Explanation
〜てくれる is used when someone performs an action that benefits the speaker (or someone in the speaker's in-group). The person who performs the action is the subject (marked with が), and the pattern emphasizes their kindness or helpfulness.
The basic structure is [Person が] + [て-form verb] + くれる. Unlike もらう, which focuses on the receiver, くれる focuses on the giver. くれる conjugates as an ichidan (る) verb: くれた (past), くれない (negative).
A very common and useful pattern is 〜てくれない？ or 〜てくれませんか as a way to ask someone to do something for you. This is softer and more natural than direct requests in many situations.
Examples
姉がケーキを作ってくれた。
あねがけーきをつくってくれた。
ane ga keeki o tsukutte kureta.
My older sister made a cake for me.
山田さんが道を教えてくれました。
やまださんがみちをおしえてくれました。
Yamada-san ga michi o oshiete kuremashita.
Yamada-san told me the way.
ちょっと手伝ってくれない？
ちょっとてつだってくれない？
chotto tetsudatte kurenai?
Could you help me a bit?
父が新しいパソコンを買ってくれた。
ちちがあたらしいぱそこんをかってくれた。
chichi ga atarashii pasokon o katte kureta.
My father bought me a new computer.
Common Mistakes
Wrong
姉がケーキを作ってあげた。
Correct
姉がケーキを作ってくれた。
あげた means the sister did it for someone else. くれた means she did it for me (the speaker).
Wrong
姉にケーキを作ってくれた。
Correct
姉がケーキを作ってくれた。
The person who does the action in てくれる is marked with が, not に.
Wrong
手伝ってくれるない？
Correct
手伝ってくれない？
The negative of くれる is くれない, not くれるない. It is an ichidan verb.
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