help
part of speech
verb (help, helps, helped, helping); noun (help — uncountable; a helping, helpings — a serving); exclamation (Help!)
meaning for a pupil
1) To help is to do something for someone so their work is easier. tree →
2) Help is the act of helping, or things that make work easier. tree →
3) «Help!» is shouted when someone is in danger. tree →
4) Can't help means cannot stop yourself, as in I can't help laughing. tree →
5) A helping is one serving of food on a plate. tree →
6) Help yourself means take what you want. tree →
7) (casual) «Help a mate out» or «gimme a hand» means please help me; «no help at all» is said, often sarcastically, of someone useless. tree →
8) (rough) «God help us» or «heaven help him» means things are bad or someone is in trouble; «you're no bloody help» is an angry complaint. tree →
9) (formal) «Assistance», «render assistance» and «aid» are the stiff words for help: «Assistance was rendered by two volunteers.» tree →
10) (euphemism) «The help» is an old way to say servants or cleaners; «needs a bit of help» can softly mean someone is struggling. tree →
11) No help for it means nothing can be done about a situation, so it has to be accepted. tree →
sense in the lessons
Often people working together, which joins their amounts or rates; also «helping» as a serving of food. In everyday life and safety: ask a grown-up for help; call for help in an emergency (999 in the UK, 911 in the USA and Canada, 000 in Australia, 111 in New Zealand, 112 or 999 in Ireland); helping at home. In stories: a friend comes to help. In casual talk: «help me out here», «little help?», «can't help it». In the exam voice: «with the assistance of», «aided by». Phrases: «help out», «ask for help», «help yourself», «with the help of», «helping hand», «self-help».
examples
- Sam helps his dad pick 30 apples. tree →
- With Ann's help they paint 2 walls an hour. tree →
- She had two helpings of soup. tree →
- How many did they pick together? tree →
- Can you help me carry this box? tree →
- If you are lost, ask a police officer for help. tree →
- Help yourself to some fruit. tree →
- I couldn't help smiling when I saw the puppy. tree →
- help me out mate, 3 bags each and there's 4 of us, how many bags (casual) tree →
- Oh great, you're a big help — you ate half the biscuits! (sarcastic) tree →
- Shut up and help me count them, it's 12 not 10. (rough) tree →
- With the assistance of two volunteers, a quantity of 30 apples was harvested; determine the share of each. (formal exam) tree →
- There was no help for it. tree →
note
Helping often means two people's amounts or work rates are added. Trap: if a helper picks some, check whether the question asks for one person or both. Regular verb: helped (not «holp»). «Help» as a noun is uncountable: «a lot of help», not «helps». «Help to do» and «help do» are both fine. Sarcasm trap: «you're a big help» can mean the opposite — look at what the person did. «Assistance» (formal) = help; «assist» = help. Safety: shouting «Help!» or calling the emergency number is right when someone is hurt or in danger.
In the corpora
- Knowing this helps you understand why a family's week is planned round a piece of paper on the fridge.
- While a parent is unemployed the family may claim benefits and cut spending; free fun like parks and libraries helps.
- Benefits are paid for by everyone's taxes as a safety net, and many families who work get some help too.
- Child benefit is a small regular payment from the government to families with children, to help with things like shoes and food.
- Sorting it is the grown-ups' job, not the child's, and asking for help early is the sensible move.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «help» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.