くれる - Grammar Discussion

Grammar Points
#1

to give (me), to be given

Structure

  • Giverは・が + Recipientに + Nounを くれる
  • Recipientに + Giverは・が + Nounを くれる
  • Giverは・が + Nounを + Recipientに くれる

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:warning: For both くれる and あげる, に marks the recipient. If you want to express act of giving something to someone outside of your inner circle use あげるinstead.

[くれる describes something being given to you or someone inside your inner circle from someone outside it]
[くれる → To give towards the speaker・あげる → To give away from the speaker]

[Only used if the result is desirable・If the context is clear, both the giver and the receiver can be omitted]

additional reading:

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#2

I’m confused by one of the example sentences where くれて is used instead of the expected くれる. I don’t see any info on when to use くれて in the grammar point or in the readings. Perhaps some more info is needed here or am I missing some important lesson somewhere? I didn’t know the Te-form could be used as a conjunction in this manner.
kurete

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#3

@hotyaznboi Thank you for your feedback. We do not currently have a lesson dedicated to the conjunctive て-form, but it is something that we plan to add in the future. Since くれる is followed immediately by うれしい, we need a conjunction (くれて) here. If うれしいです was a separate sentence, くれた would be acceptable. However, since the following sentence (うれしいです) is polite, くれました would be the more appropriate choice. I have updated the example sentence information to include a note on the conjunctive. Cheers!

#4

The sentence & the orange hint should be reversed.
“My friend gave me X” is the more natural translation and the thought that one would want to express. It also makes me think about the directionality of くれる instead of just associating “was given” = くれる

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#5

Hey :grin:
“X gave me Y” is the main translation :+1:

#6

Is “元気をくれる” a set expression? The current translation of “give me energy” doesn’t make sense to me in English. Does the whole sentence " 彼が(私に)元気をくれた" mean “He cheered me up.”?

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#7

@max99x

That’s right! 元気 is one of many Japanese words that is difficult to construe in English without losing its intended meaning. The reason that we decided to go with the more literal translation here was to make it easier to produce the grammar point in question. I have updated the sentence to include the “He cheered me up.” translation to hopefully clear up any future confusion. Cheers!

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#8

How come sentence examples describe things given to me by my mom, or my elder brother, or my grandpa ? These people belong my inner circle, don’t they ? The quote says “… from someone outside it”, this clause is not satisfied, kureru should not apply then. I don’t understand.

#9

@Joluju Thank you for your inquiry! Check this explanation and video out to get a better understanding of circles/social distances. Cheers!

#10

彼女はいつも(僕に)綺麗な封筒をくれる。
She always gives (me) pretty envelopes.

Can くれる be changed into くれている to further emphasize a habitual action? Or is that a no, no?

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#11

@deltacat3

This is not necessarily a no, no, but it is far more common to use をくれている when you are not referring to physical objects. E.g. you will often come across phrases like 愛をくれている, 元気 をくれている, or 許可 をくれている.

It is more common to see くれている used with verbs (てくれている) when the speaker wishes to further emphasize that the action is ongoing. So, you could say 彼女はいつも(僕に)綺麗な封筒を送ってくれている to further emphasize that she is always sending me pretty envelopes.

Cheers!

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#12

if we use て here, what puts the sentence into the past tense? Why isn’t it 'he gives some cute shoes to me, so I am happy`

I had opted for くれた

#13

The comma indicates that it has to be て-form to join with something that comes after. If you put くれた then that would be the end of the sentence.
It’s translated as past tense because the situation is that ‘I am currently happy about something that happened’.

The pattern is like these grammar points:
Verb[て] + B | Japanese Grammar SRS
てくれてありがとう | Japanese Grammar SRS
てすみません | Japanese Grammar SRS

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#14

Hi, I saw these diagrams which helped understanding the concept better.

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image778×387 43.6 KB

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image1038×360 89.7 KB

But both leave me with one question. Which verb to use if somebody from my bigger inner circle gives something to somebody in my bigger inner circle? For example if my brother gives something to my sister.

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