helps
helps — verb
- helpspresent simple I / you / we / they
- helpses3rd person singular
- helpsing-ing form
- helpsedpast simple
1. When a person helps you, they do part of your work or give you advice, money, or
When a person helps you, they do part of your work or give you advice, money, or support so that your task becomes easier to finish.
Yara helps her younger brother with his maths homework every evening after school.
helps [sb] with [sth] — assisting with a specific task
The government program helps small businesses find new customers through online training.
helps [sb] [verb] — enabling an action
A good dictionary helps learners understand new words without needing a teacher.
several helps — plural countable noun for domestic staff
The nurse helps the elderly patient walk from the bed to the bathroom.
Brooke helps her mother prepare dinner whenever she comes home early from work.
- helps with
- helps to
- helps someone do
Grammar Patterns
helps + object + with + noun
helps + object + infinitive
helps + object + (to) + verb
Usage Note
Frequently used with an object: 'helps someone (to) do something' is the most common pattern for this sense. The 'to' after the object is optional in everyday speech.
Common Mistakes
2. If a treatment, action, or object helps a difficult situation or a physical prob
If a treatment, action, or object helps a difficult situation or a physical problem, it makes the situation less serious or the pain less strong.
A warm cup of ginger tea helps Paloma's sore throat feel better at night.
helps + [body part] feel better — relieving discomfort
Regular exercise helps reduce stress and helps people sleep more deeply.
The new cream helps the itching on Soraya's skin go away within a few days.
Putting a cool cloth on your forehead helps bring down a high fever.
Talking to a close friend helps when anxiety feels too heavy to carry alone.
- helps reduce
- helps relieve
- helps ease
Grammar Patterns
helps + noun phrase (a situation / a problem / a symptom)
Usage Note
The subject is typically a treatment, medicine, action, or object — not a person. For example, 'this cream helps' or 'rest helps', not 'the doctor helps' (which would be sense 1).
Common Mistakes
3. When a person, action, or situation counts among the causes that bring about a p
When a person, action, or situation counts among the causes that bring about a particular result, without being the single deciding factor.
The sunny weather helps the vegetables in Xiu's garden grow faster.
helps [sth] grow / develop — one factor among several
Reading bedtime stories helps young children develop stronger language skills.
The new bus route helps reduce traffic in the city centre during rush hour.
Good teamwork helps the design team finish projects before the deadline.
Lower interest rates help the housing market recover after several slow months.
- helps create
- helps build
- helps improve
- helps develop
- contribute to
more formal; emphasises being one part of a larger result
- facilitate
formal; means to make a process easier or smoother
- promote
suggests actively encouraging growth or development
Grammar Patterns
helps + (to) + verb — where the subject is one contributing factor among several
Usage Note
Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 is about one person directly assisting another. Sense 3 is about a factor that contributes to an outcome. The 'to' is optional in 'helps (to) do'.
4. When you cannot help doing something or feeling a certain way, the feeling or ac
When you cannot help doing something or feeling a certain way, the feeling or action happens even though you try to prevent it or wish it would not happen.
Yael cannot help laughing every time the cat chases its tail around the living room.
can't help + -ing — involuntary physical reaction
Hugo could not help but smile when his daughter took her first steps across the room.
couldn't help but + verb — involuntary emotional reaction
Trang cannot help crying whenever she reaches the final scene of that old film.
The grandfather can't help feeling proud when his grandson wins the spelling competition.
Min cannot help checking her phone every few minutes while waiting for the email.
- can't help feeling
- can't help noticing
- can't help wondering
- cannot avoid
more formal; emphasises lack of choice
- cannot stop oneself
highlights the effort to resist
- be unable to resist
suggests strong temptation
Grammar Patterns
can't help + -ing
can't help but + base verb
can't help + noun
Usage Note
This sense ALWAYS appears with a negative (can't / cannot / couldn't). Without the negative, 'help' here means something completely different. Common patterns: 'can't help doing something' (most common), 'can't help but do something' (slightly more formal), 'can't help it' (fixed phrase, no following verb).
Common Mistakes
5. When you help someone to food or drink, you serve it to them by putting it on th
When you help someone to food or drink, you serve it to them by putting it on their plate or pouring it into their glass, usually during a meal.
Aunt Rosa helps each child to a slice of birthday cake at the family party.
helps [sb] to [food] — serving food at a meal
The host helps himself to more rice before passing the bowl around the table.
Grandma helps Emre to another ladle of hot soup on a cold winter evening.
The chef helps the guests to small samples of the new pasta dish at the opening.
- helps oneself to
- helps someone to
Grammar Patterns
helps + someone + to + food/drink
helps + oneself + to + food/drink
Usage Note
This sense is somewhat old-fashioned in modern English. The phrase 'help yourself' (without 'to') is common as a polite invitation: 'Please help yourself.' The pattern 'help someone to [food]' is more common in formal dining contexts.
Common Mistakes
6. If someone helps themselves to something that does not belong to them, they take
If someone helps themselves to something that does not belong to them, they take it without permission, often in a sneaky or dishonest way.
Someone helped themselves to Apinya's lunch from the office refrigerator during the break.
helped themselves to [sth] — taking without asking
During the party a stranger helped himself to the host's wallet from the hallway table.
The children helped themselves to chocolate biscuits from the jar while their mother was on the phone.
The security camera caught a driver helping himself to boxes from the warehouse.
- helped himself to
- helped themselves to
- steal
more direct and morally stronger; 'help oneself to' can sound less serious
- take without permission
descriptive and neutral
- pocket
informal; suggests taking something small and hiding it
- return
to give something back to its owner
Grammar Patterns
helps + oneself + to + noun phrase (something taken)
Usage Note
The reflexive pronoun (myself / yourself / himself / herself / itself / ourselves / yourselves / themselves) is mandatory in this sense. The tone varies: it can be playful ('the children helped themselves to cookies') or serious ('he helped himself to company funds').
Common Mistakes
helps — noun
- helpssingular
- helpsesplural
1. The act of doing something for another person so that their job or problem becom
The act of doing something for another person so that their job or problem becomes easier to manage or solve.
Hugo's neighbours came to his help when a tree fell on his garage during the storm.
With the help of a local guide, the tourists found their way back to the hotel before sunset.
with the help of [sb/sth] — common phrase for assistance
The charity provides food and medical help to families who lost their homes in the flood.
Faisal called out for help when his boat started taking in water near the rocks.
- need help
- ask for help
- with the help of
- call for help
- get help
- assistance
more formal; often used in official or written contexts
- aid
formal; used for serious needs like medical or financial support
- support
suggests continuous help rather than a one-time action
- hindrance
something that makes a task harder instead of easier
Grammar Patterns
in need of help
with the help of
ask for help
Usage Note
This noun is uncountable: you cannot say 'a help' for assistance. For the countable use ('a help' meaning a useful person or thing), see noun sense 2. For domestic workers, see noun sense 3.
Common Mistakes
2. A person, thing, or piece of advice that makes a job or situation easier or bett
A person, thing, or piece of advice that makes a job or situation easier or better for someone.
Yara's map was a great help when the hiking group got lost in the fog.
The new washing machine is a big help for a large family with young children.
be a [adjective] help — describing something useful
The librarian was a real help to Min when she could not find her research papers.
The fundraiser money was a huge help for the school's new science laboratory.
- a big help
- a great help
- be a help
- nuisance
a person or thing that causes trouble or annoyance
Grammar Patterns
be a help to [sb]
be a great help
Usage Note
In this sense 'help' can be countable ('a help', 'a great help') when referring to a specific person or thing that is useful. This is different from noun sense 1 where 'help' is always uncountable.
Common Mistakes
3. A person who receives payment for cleaning inside someone's home and carrying ou
A person who receives payment for cleaning inside someone's home and carrying out minor household tasks.
The elderly couple hired a help who comes every Tuesday to clean their house.
hire a help — employing a domestic cleaner
Chiara works as a help for several families in her neighbourhood after school.
The family's help took care of the children while the parents worked late.
The Chen family advertised for a domestic help to do the gardening and weekly cleaning.
- hire help
- domestic help
- clean help
- cleaner
more common in modern English; focuses on cleaning duties
- housekeeper
may involve more organisational tasks
- domestic worker
formal; the general term for paid household employees
Grammar Patterns
hire a help
work as a help
Usage Note
This usage is more common in British English than American English. In modern usage 'cleaner' or 'housekeeper' is often preferred. The plural 'helps' (meaning multiple domestic workers) is rare but possible.
4. The people who are employed in someone's home to do cleaning, cooking, taking ca
The people who are employed in someone's home to do cleaning, cooking, taking care of children, and other household tasks when considered as a group.
The estate employed several helps who lived in small cottages behind the house.
several helps — plural countable noun
In the old mansion the kitchen helps started their work at five o'clock every morning.
All the helps were given one day off per week and a small room above the garage.
The garden helps trimmed the hedges and planted flowers before the summer party.
- the kitchen helps
- the house helps
- hired helps
- domestic staff
modern and neutral term for household employees
- household employees
formal and professional
- servants
dated and carries strong historical class connotations
Grammar Patterns
the helps
hired helps
Usage Note
This plural usage is dated and can sound old-fashioned or class-sensitive. Modern alternatives like 'domestic staff' or 'household employees' are more neutral. 'The help' (singular, collective) was historically used for the whole group.
helps — exclamation
1. A word shouted by someone who is in serious danger and needs another person to r
A word shouted by someone who is in serious danger and needs another person to rescue them immediately.
"Help!" the child screamed when she saw her brother fall into the deep swimming pool.
simple exclamation: 'Help!' shouted in an emergency
The hiker shouted "Help!" as loud as he could when he realised he was lost on the mountain.
"Help! There is smoke coming from the kitchen!" Yael yelled down the hallway.
The sailor cried "Help!" into the darkness after his boat hit the rocks in the storm.
- cry help
- shout help
- scream help
- Save me!
more specific: implies the person is trapped or about to be harmed
Grammar Patterns
Help!
Usage Note
This is a cry for emergency rescue. For less urgent requests for assistance, use 'Can you help me?' or 'Excuse me, I need some help.'
Common Mistakes
❌ Using 'Help!' for non-emergency situations like needing directions — this can cause confusion or panic.
Word family
- helpverbA1
- helpnounA1
- helpfuladjectiveA2
- helplessadjectiveB1
- helpernounA2
- helpfullyadverbB1
- helpfulnessnounB2
- helplesslyadverbB2
- helplessnessnounC1
- helpingnounB2
- self-helpnounB2
- helpdesknounB1
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
All four words describe giving help, but they differ in formality, scope, and typical context. 'Assist' (B2) is more formal than 'help' and is common in professional settings: a nurse assists a doctor during surgery, or a software program assists users in completing a form. 'Aid' (B2) is the most formal and often implies serious or essential help — aid organisations provide food and shelter, or a country gives military aid to an ally. 'Support' (B1) suggests ongoing, sustained help rather than a single action: a mentor supports a junior colleague over several months, or a strong foundation supports a building. 'Lend a hand' (B1, informal) is a friendly, everyday phrase used among people who know each other: 'Could you lend a hand with these boxes?' For most casual situations, 'help' is the best choice because it is neutral in formality and widely understood.
Common collocations
Nouns
- help desk
- help centre
- help line
- help file
- help menu
Adverbs
- greatly helps
- really helps
- certainly helps
- enormously helps
- definitely helps
Phrases
- with the help of
- in need of help
- call for help
- cry for help
- come to someone's help
Prepositions
- help with
- help in
- help by
Etymology
The word 'help' comes from Old English 'helpan', a strong verb meaning 'to aid, support, or benefit'. It belongs to the Germanic language family and has relatives in Old Saxon 'helpan', Old High German 'helfan', and Gothic 'hilpan'. The noun form developed from the verb in early Old English. The exclamation 'Help!' as a cry for rescue appeared in Middle English. The modern form 'helps' is the third-person singular present tense inflection, which has been used since the early Middle English period.
First known use
12th century
12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1 Noun