～てあげる
Do an action as a favor for someone
You'll be able to describe doing something that benefits another person from the giver's viewpoint.
蓮は芽衣の靴ひもを結んであげます。
ren wa mei no kutsuhimo o musunde agemasu.
What do you think this sentence means?
Ren ties Mei's shoelaces for her.
Do an action for someone’s benefit
～てあげる presents an action as a favor done for someone else. The person doing it is the subject; the sentence looks outward from the helper’s side.
友達に写真を送ってあげました。
tomodachi ni shashin o okutte agemashita.
I sent a photograph to my friend as a favor.
Form and use ～てあげる
The beneficiary’s particle depends on the action; not every sentence needs に. Describing your own act as a favor can sound self-congratulatory, especially directly to a superior. Use the construction with appropriate relationships.
友達に写真を送ってあげました。
tomodachi ni shashin o okutte agemashita.
I sent a photograph to my friend as a favor.
母の荷物を持ってあげます。
haha no nimotsu o motte agemasu.
I will carry my mother’s luggage for her.
妹に算数の宿題を教えてあげました。
imouto ni sansuu no shukudai o oshiete agemashita.
I helped my younger sister with her math homework.
道に迷っている人を駅まで連れて行ってあげました。
michi ni mayotte iru hito o eki made tsurete itte agemashita.
I took someone who was lost to the station.
駅の階段で、おばあさんの荷物を持ってあげました。
eki no kaidan de, obaasan no nimotsu o motte agemashita.
I carried an elderly woman's bags on the stairs at the station.
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