itoko ga yakitori o katte kite kureta node, watashi wa karaage o tsukuranakute sunda.

topic particle

Breakdown of itoko ga yakitori o katte kite kureta node, watashi wa karaage o tsukuranakute sunda.

• 私わたし: I
• を: direct object particle
• が: subject particle

Questions & Answers about itoko ga yakitori o katte kite kureta node, watashi wa karaage o tsukuranakute sunda.

Why is が used after いとこ?

Here, いとこ が marks my cousin as the subject of the first clause:

• いとこ が 焼き鳥を買ってきてくれた
• My cousin bought and brought yakitori for me

Using が is natural because it identifies who performed the action. In this sentence, the cousin is the one who did the helpful action.

If you used は instead, it would sound more like you were setting up my cousin as the topic, possibly with a contrastive nuance.

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What exactly does 買ってきてくれた mean?

This is a combination of three parts:

• 買って = te-form of 買う (to buy)
• きて = te-form of くる (to come)
• くれた = past form of くれる (to do something for me/us)

So:

• 買ってきた = bought it and brought it here
• 買ってきてくれた = bought it, brought it here, and did that for me/us

The important nuance is benefit to the speaker.
くれる shows that the action was done as a favor or in a way the speaker appreciates.

So this is not just my cousin bought yakitori. It is more like:

• My cousin kindly bought some yakitori and brought it over (for me/us).

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Why are there two て forms in 買ってきてくれた?