When does one use 〜もらいました versus 〜くれました?


I know that when giving something, you can say 父に傘を貸して **あげました** - there's
only one word for when giving. But when receiving something, it's either
〜もらいました or 〜くれました.

It's my understanding that, when the subject is myself, we use 〜もらいました, and
when the subject is the other person, it's 〜くれました. Is this correct, and are
there other considerations that I should be aware of?




Your recognition is totally right. Here are some examples and differences.

## もらいました

> **私{わたし}は** 父{ちち}から傘{かさ}をもらいました。 (I got an umbrella from my father.)

You can see that the subject is `私 (I)` and `もらいました` can be applied for this
case. This sentence _can_ imply that the person `私` asked his father to give
an umbrella for him/her in several cases.

## くれました

> **父{ちち}は** 私{わたし}に傘{かさ}をくれました。 (My father gave me an umbrella.)

The subject is `父{ちち}` and `くれました` should be appropriate for this case.

## Feeling

Both sentences can imply that either `私` asked him to give umbrella or the
father gave him/her an umbrella voluntarily.

In my opinion the second sentence can be associated with _voluntariness_ more
than first one.




Your recognition is totally right. Here are some examples and differences.

## もらいました

> **私{わたし}は** 父{ちち}から傘{かさ}をもらいました。 (I got an umbrella from my father.)

You can see that the subject is `私 (I)` and `もらいました` can be applied for this
case. This sentence _can_ imply that the person `私` asked his father to give
an umbrella for him/her in several cases.

## くれました

> **父{ちち}は** 私{わたし}に傘{かさ}をくれました。 (My father gave me an umbrella.)

The subject is `父{ちち}` and `くれました` should be appropriate for this case.

## Feeling

Both sentences can imply that either `私` asked him to give umbrella or the
father gave him/her an umbrella voluntarily.

In my opinion the second sentence can be associated with _voluntariness_ more
than first one.

