30183
I'm pretty sure the answer to this is "yes", but I'm a bit unsure about why.
For example, given the following scenario:

> My friend, John, tells me that his friend, Mariko, is performing a survey
> and he asks me to take it. The survey is very interesting to me and I
> subsequently contact Mariko directly to talk about her research.

In this situation, can I introduce myself by saying 「調査について、ジョンに
**聞かせてもらいました** 」? In the sense of ～てもらう as "to get someone to do something",
this seems odd given that I didn't actually do anything. But it feels right,
and I'm not sure why. I could say 「ジョンから聞きました」, but that doesn't sound as
natural to my ears.

So, despite having no actual agency in having heard about the survey, can I
say 聞かせてもらいました? And bonus points for telling me why.

(Also, just as confirmation, it _is_ inappropriate in this situation to say
聞かせていただきました, right?)
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-13T18:57:24.507
19500
2016-01-02T02:40:31.030
384
question
usage subsidiary-verbs
Can you say ～てもらった when you actually did nothing?
I think the key to remember with てもらう is that you benefited from it (more or
less). Doesn't matter if you did anything... in fact in many cases you won't
have done anything. I think for this situation (considering the fact you
actually want to do the survey - IE they're doing you a favor and not the
other way around) 頼まれてもらいました or maybe 紹介してもらいました might work better.

I guess I never heard of of that form as "to get someone to do something".
Then again, I'm sure the text books are way different now.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-15T01:45:43.480
19516
2014-11-15T01:45:43.480
7550
19500
answer
> In this situation, can I introduce myself by saying 「調査について、ジョンに
> **聞かせてもらいました** 」?

Yes, you can; There is nothing wrong or unnatural about it.

The reason that one may use 「聞かせてもらいました」 here would be that it would make one
sound **_interested_** in the survey. To use 「もらう」, one did not have to
request John to explain what his friend Mariko was doing.

By using 「もらう」, you could also imply that John is a kind individual and that
you are humble enough to appreciate the information he has given to you.

Could one also say 「友人のジョンから **聞いた** んですけど、～～～～」? Yes, certainly. One might
not sound quite as interested, but it would still be a valid phrase choice.

(To avoid sounding indifferent or improper, your overall tone of voice can
often be more important than a word or phrase choice here and there, if I may
add.)

> Also, just as confirmation, it is inappropriate in this situation to say
> 聞かせていただきました, right?

Depends. If you are not that close to John in the first place, using 「いただいた」
is proper and natural. If you, however, are indeed very close to John and
Mariko already knows about it, then it would be inappropriate to say
「聞かせていただきました」 because you are, then, making John sound like a stranger.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-02T02:40:31.030
30183
2016-01-02T02:40:31.030
19500
answer