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In a short video, I saw during a Japanese lesson, a guy is at the door, leaving an apartment and telling a person inside: "すみません、そこまで行くんで、ちょっと傘を貸してもらいます。"

Can someone help me to break down this sentence?
"貸してもらいます" looks like a question but there is no "か" and in the transcript of the video there was no question mark, so is it just a polite way to say "I will borrow you", even if the verb is "To lend"?

Poulp
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  • Related: 貸してあげる、貸してもらう　USAGES – aguijonazo Jan 10 '22 at 11:57
  • I've read the topic addressed in this link, but I already understand てもらう in the usual context, but in my example, it's conjugated in present/future, and it seems a request. For me, the translation would be "Sorry, I will go as far as there, I will receive your favour of lending me an umbrella", but in this context, it seems to be a question / asking for authorization ... – Poulp Jan 10 '22 at 13:22
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    The relationship between the lender and the borrower must be such that the borrower doesn’t feel he has to specifically ask for permission but still needs to let the lender know he is going to borrow the umbrella. – aguijonazo Jan 10 '22 at 13:41

1 Answers1

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Here's the super-literal breakdown:

  • もらいます: I (will) receive (something).
  • 貸してもらいます: I will receive a favor of [your] lending.
  • 傘を貸してもらいます: I will receive a favor of lending [me] an umbrella.

So he's saying "I'll have you lend me an umbrella (and I'm thankful about it)". He could have said 傘を借ります ("I'll borrow an umbrella"), which is much simpler but less polite.

This is not a question in any way, and it is not really a request for permission, either. It's just a notice, based on the assumption that the listener won't refuse.

naruto
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