Right! That's what I was also thinking, that it wouldn't work at all, you'd have to switch the giver / reciever AND the verb for it to mean the opposite, just like in English.
Yeah, morau is so much more easier to understand than kureru, is it used more often?
Left rep for you guys, this was a major cog and I'm glad to see that I got it right on the second time, at least.
So I'll finish Ch. 13 + 14 and post'em as soon as I can.
One thing that helped me understand kureru/morau is that the use depends on the relationship to the speaker. Its not something I really understood well at all studying it home, now I sort of understand it but both are used just as liberally. I dont really understand clearly esspecially when to use Kudasaru vs. itadaku, but thats another matter al together XD I'll just illustrate using some examples I guess. Its really really hard to translate into english too!
For example if I was talking to a sempai (older student) or someone that I dont really know well I'd use:
Sempai! Watashi wa (senpai kara/ni) chotto shukudai wo mite moraemasu/moraemasen ka?
Sempai! Could you check this work for me?
Sumimasen, (watashi wa anata ni) shiyou wo totte moraemasen ka.
Excuse me could you please pass me the soy sauce.
In both cases you are asking for a favour from someone you dont really know all that well or perhaps dont talk to all that often. So its more polite to use morau when asking for something to be done for you.
But contrast this to what I say if I'm with a close friend.
Yumi-chan! (watashi ni) Shukudai wo mite kurenai?
Hey Yumi! Can ya check this homework for me?
Yuri-chan! (watashi ni) shiyou wo totte kurenai?
Yuri can ya pass the salt?
Here kureru and morau both mean almost exactly the same thing. The usage here depends on the relationship between the speaker and the giver. With people I dont know all that well I use morau. With people I'm closer with, kureru I feel is more appropiate because we are closer. It would be strange for me to use kureru with a stranger for some reason.
When your talking about giving and receiving objects, the meanings of kureru and morau change slightly again.
kyou kareshi ga (watashi ni) hana wo kureta/kuremashita.
Today my boyfriend gave me some flowers.
Kyou watashi wa kareshi ni hana wo moratta/moraimashita.
I received some flowers from my boyfriend today.
You cant really tell the different here but when I say the first sentence its like i was a little bit surprised I got flowers today/he did this as a favour out of the blue/I was pleasantly surprised. Whereas the second sentence is a lot more neutral and there is a slight implication that I was slightly expecting the flowers and so I received them as I had expected.
Kureru also implies a certain amount of closeness with the speaker as well. Morau is more neutral than kureru but I also feel there is a little bit of gratitude felt if you use morau.
I dont know if this is understandable or even 100% correct but its how I feel when I use kureru/morau
