Doing a favour: 〜てあげる
Verb in て + あげる
Verb in て + あげる: do something for someone (from me to the other person). The person helped keeps the verb's particle (に, の, を). Avoid it with a superior; やる for animals and plants.
In short
Verb in て + あげる: to do something for someone, to do them a favour. As with objects (N5), あげる goes from me (or my side) to someone else. It isn't used towards a superior: it would sound condescending.
- 友だちに 道を 教えて あげました。ともだちに みちを おしえて あげました。I showed a friend the way.
- 妹の 宿題を 見て あげた。いもうとの しゅくだいを みて あげた。I helped my little sister with her homework.
- おばあさんの にもつを 持って あげました。おばあさんの にもつを もって あげました。I carried an old lady's bags for her.
- 寝る 前に 子どもに 本を 読んで あげます。ねる まえに こどもに ほんを よんで あげます。I read my child a story before bed.
The basics
At N5, you learned あげる for giving an object. With a て-form verb in front, you give an action: “I do this for you”. 教えて あげる is “to give an explanation”; 持って あげる, “to carry for someone”. In English, it's usually just “for someone”, or a double object: “I bought him a game”.
The direction stays the same: the favour goes from me (or someone in my group) to another person.
I showed a friend the way.
- noun
- verb
- grammatical form
- 友だちに 道を 教えました。ともだちに みちを おしえました。I showed a friend the way. (a plain fact)
How to form it, and which particles
Verb in て + あげる, conjugated like あげる (あげます, あげた, あげない). The particle for the person helped depends on the verb: you keep the one the verb already takes.
| The verb… | The person helped takes | Example |
|---|---|---|
| already has a “to whom” (教える, 貸す, 見せる, 読む) | に | 友だちに 本を 貸して あげた |
| concerns something of the person's (持つ, 直す, 見る) | の + noun を | 母の かばんを 持って あげた |
| has the person as its object (送る, 手伝う, つれて いく) | を | 友だちを 駅まで 送って あげた |
| buy, make for (買う, 作る) | に | 弟に ゲームを 買って あげた |
- 母の かばんを 持って あげました。ははの かばんを もって あげました。I carried my mother's bag for her.
- 友だちを 駅まで 送って あげた。ともだちを えきまで おくって あげた。I walked my friend to the station.
Careful with superiors
〜て あげる stresses that you're doing a favour. Said to a teacher's or a customer's face, it sounds patronising: “I'll graciously…”. To offer help to a superior, you use a humble form, お〜します, which comes later (お持ちします: “let me carry that for you”).
Even between equals, using it about yourself in front of the person concerned can sound heavy: 〜ましょうか (“shall I…?”) is preferred.
- 先生、かばんを お持ちします。せんせい、かばんを おもちします。Let me carry your bag, Professor. (humble, correct)
- にもつ、持ちましょうか。にもつ、もちましょうか。Shall I carry your bags?
やる: for animals and plants
For an animal, a plant, or (in casual speech) a child in the family, やる is used instead of あげる. 〜て やる can also sound threatening (“I'll show you”), so handle it with care.
- 毎朝 花に 水を やります。まいあさ はなに みずを やります。I water the flowers every morning.
- 犬を 外に 出して やった。いぬを そとに だして やった。I let the dog out.
Common mistakes
- Saying “先生に 教えて あげます”: it's condescending. With a superior, go through the humble forms.
- Forgetting to change the particle: 母の かばんを 持って あげた, not “母に かばんを 持って あげた”.
- Mixing up あげる and くれる: あげる goes from me to the other person; towards me, it's くれる (next point).
7 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N4 point is on the Sakaisuji Line (Doing favours) of the Osaka subway.