59434
I came across this fill-in-the-blanks question in a reviewer:

> にもつ、＿＿＿＿＿ か。

The choices are もらいません or もらいましょう.

My current understanding is that もらいませんか is of the form V-ませんか which
translates to "why don't we/I V?", while もらいましょう is of the form V-ましょうか which
translates to "shall we/I V?".

If I use もらいません, then it would mean "Why don't I receive your/that luggage?".  
If I use もらいましょう, then it would mean "Shall I receive your/that luggage?".

The correct answer was もらいましょう.

But don't they both mean the same thing?  
What is the difference between the two and when to prefer one over the other?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-14T00:16:31.620
59427
2019-01-31T08:37:33.647
2019-01-31T08:37:33.647
28048
28048
question
grammar nuances politeness questions
What is the difference between 「もらいませんか」 and 「もらいましょうか」?
にもつ もらいませんか means "Why don't you receive the luggage?". So, it doesn't work in
this situation.

(Incidentally, I'm kind of surprised that you don't seem to wonder about にもつ
being unmarked with particles because that's an advanced grammar that's not
taught in any translated educational materials as far as I see.)
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-14T02:15:34.940
59428
2018-06-14T02:15:34.940
4092
59427
answer
I guess ～ませんか and ～ましょうか are sometimes taught as being two similar ways to
make a polite suggestion.

Indeed, they can be used with a somewhat similar meaning, for example in

> 行きませんか _vs_ 行きましょうか

when the context suggests

> why don't we go (together)? / would you like to go (together)? / shall we go
> (together)?

In fact, the two constructions actually mean something completely different:

  * V + ～ませんか is asking (politely) if **the other person** might want to do V

  * V + ～ましょうか is _offering_ (politely) that **you** do V.

Indeed, the context could suggest translating

> 行きませんか  
>  why don't you go (without me)?
>
> 行きましょうか  
>  shall I go (instead of you)?

Of course, for your example, ～ましょうか should be the natural choice:

> にもつ、もらいましょうか  
>  shall **I** take the luggage?
>
> にもつ、もらいませんか  
>  why don't **you** take the luggage?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-14T06:25:46.260
59434
2018-06-14T11:31:29.547
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
1628
59427
answer
I like Earthjin's answer so I thought about leaving this as a comment, but it
was too long so I'll post as an answer. Think of it as supplementary content.

「V + ませんか」can be translated in different ways depending on the context, but
the easiest way is to deal with it is to think of it as "Won't you V?" or
"Would you V?".

> 「夕飯行きませんか？」→ Won't you go to dinner (with me)?
>
> 「やめてくださいませんか？」→ Would you please stop (that)?

One notable exception to this rule is when you see 「~ 思いませんか？」. Even though it
looks like a 「V + ませんか」form, the meaning can mean "Don't you think ~~?",
depending on what comes before that phrase. This won't be confusing once you
get more familiar with what comes before (or you may already be at that level
of proficiency), but for beginners this could be a bit confusing at first.

「V + ましょうか」on the other hand is always either "Shall I + V?" or "Shall we +
V?", always involving and never excluding the speaker.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-14T07:17:23.447
59436
2018-06-14T07:17:23.447
18608
59427
answer