Page 474 - Basic Japanese

9.19. Favors

When you say ‘someone does something FOR someone

else,’ you are reporting a FAVOR. To do this in Japanese, use
the gerund of the verb representing the action of the favor,

and then add on the appropriate verb meaning ‘gives.’ In
other words, to say ‘I’ll write the letter for you,’ the

Japanese says something like ‘I will give you (the favor of)
writing the letter,’ Tegami o kaite agemasu. The person doing

the favor is either the topic, followed by the particle wa, or
the emphatic subject, followed by the particle ga. The

person for whom the favor is done is indicated by the
particle ni:

Tanaka-san wa Nakamura-san ni tegami o kaite
agemashita.
Mr. Tanaka wrote the letter to Mr. Nakamura.

The verbs for giving are used just as they would be if you

were giving some object instead of a favor. Similarly, the
verbs of receiving can also be used for this function. Make

sure to mark the recipient of the kind action with the
particle ni.

Ani wa watashi ni hon o yonde kuremashita.
My brother read a book to me.

Sensei wa watashi ni kanji o oshiete kudasaimashita.
My teacher taught me kanji.