"みんな、よくやってくれた" Question

[Daru]

I’ve been playing a lot of Disgaea 5. When you beat a level, at the results screen, one of the characters says:

「みんな、よくやってくれた」

I know what these words mean individually, and I’m having a bit of trouble nailing down the grammar for it. I’ve asked around and noticed it’s pretty much “well done, everyone”.

From what I’ve studied, 〜てくれる means to receive, やる to do, so やってくれる would mean something like “to do for my sake”, right?

Which begs the question, could I say してくれる or やってもらう？

[Leebo]

@Daru

From what I’ve studied, 〜てくれる means to receive, やる to do, so やってくれる would mean something like “to do for my sake”, right?

Yes

@Daru

Which begs the question, could I say してくれる or やってもらう？

Sure, those combinations are also possible.

Maybe it’s too confusing to also say that やる itself can mean “give” and be an auxiliary for “give”. But it is generally used now for animals and plants, and using it with humans is going to (generally) be interpreted as rude.

But in this case, it’s the “do” meaning, not the “give” meaning.

[Daru]

Thank you for your reply!

@Leebo

But in this case, it’s the “do” meaning, not the “give” meaning.

Yeah, I’ve read that やる and あげる when used as auxiliaries (〜てあげる、〜てやる) mean to do X for something/someone. For example, watering your plants or feeding your pets. I’m guessing the meaning boils down to whether you’re doing the giving (〜てやる, to give to something), or receiving the doing. (やってくれる, to have something done for you.)

I think I understand it better now. Thank you very much!