helps

IPA/help/
KK[hˈɛlps]IPA/help/

helps — 動詞

  • 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

1.動詞及物 / 不及物A1
釋義

幫助；協助

幫忙某人做某事

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.

例句

Yara helps her younger brother with his maths homework every evening after school.

Yara 每天晚上放學後幫助弟弟寫數學作業。

helps [sb] with [sth] — assisting with a specific task

The government program helps small businesses find new customers through online training.

政府的補助計畫幫助小型企業透過線上培訓找到新客戶。

helps [sb] [verb] — enabling an action

同義詞
  • assist

    more formal than 'help'; often used in professional or written contexts

  • aid

    formal; used especially for serious needs such as money, food, or rescue

  • support

    implies ongoing help rather than a single action

反義詞
  • hinder

    to make it harder for someone to do something

  • obstruct

    to block or get in the way of progress

文法句型

helps + object + with + noun

helps + object + infinitive

helps + object + (to) + verb

用法筆記

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.

常見錯誤

❌The medicine helps to me feel better.
✅The medicine helps me feel better.
💡When 'help' is followed by a person and a verb, do not use 'to' before the person.
❌She helps me my homework.
✅She helps me with my homework.
💡Use 'with' before the task, not the person's possessive.

2. If a treatment, action, or object helps a difficult situation or a physical prob

2.動詞及物 / 不及物B1
釋義

改善；緩解

使困難情況好轉

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.

例句

A warm cup of ginger tea helps Paloma's sore throat feel better at night.

一杯熱薑茶能幫助 Paloma 的喉嚨痛在夜裡感覺好一些。

helps + [body part] feel better — relieving discomfort

Regular exercise helps reduce stress and helps people sleep more deeply.

規律運動有助於減輕壓力，也能幫助人們夜間睡得更沉。

同義詞
  • relieve

    specifically for reducing pain, pressure, or worry

  • ease

    suggests making something less difficult or uncomfortable

  • improve

    focuses on making a situation better rather than reducing a negative

反義詞
  • worsen

    to make a problem or pain more serious

  • aggravate

    to make an unpleasant situation even worse

文法句型

helps + noun phrase (a situation / a problem / a symptom)

用法筆記

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).

常見錯誤

❌The doctor helps my headache.
✅The medicine helps my headache.
💡Sense 2 subjects are treatments or actions, not people helping another person.

3. When a person, action, or situation counts among the causes that bring about a p

3.動詞及物 / 不及物B2
釋義

促成；有助於

成為原因之一

When a person, action, or situation counts among the causes that bring about a particular result, without being the single deciding factor.

例句

The sunny weather helps the vegetables in Xiu's garden grow faster.

晴朗的天氣幫助 Xiu 菜園裡的蔬菜長得比去年更快。

helps [sth] grow / develop — one factor among several

Reading bedtime stories helps young children develop stronger language skills.

睡前讀故事有助於幼兒隨著時間培養更強的語言能力。

同義詞
  • 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

反義詞
  • hinder

    to slow down or block progress

  • prevent

    to stop something from happening entirely

文法句型

helps + (to) + verb — where the subject is one contributing factor among several

用法筆記

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

4.動詞及物 / 不及物B1
釋義

忍不住

無法停止某種行為或感覺

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.

例句

Yael cannot help laughing every time the cat chases its tail around the living room.

Yael 每次看到貓在客廳裡追著自己的尾巴跑時，都忍不住笑出來。

can't help + -ing — involuntary physical reaction

Hugo could not help but smile when his daughter took her first steps across the room.

Hugo 看到女兒在房間裡踏出第一步時，忍不住露出了笑容。

couldn't help but + verb — involuntary emotional reaction

同義詞
反義詞
  • resist

    to successfully stop yourself from doing something

  • control

    to manage your feelings or actions deliberately

文法句型

can't help + -ing

can't help but + base verb

can't help + noun

用法筆記

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).

常見錯誤

❌I help feeling sad about the news.
✅I can't help feeling sad about the news.
💡Always use a negative with this sense.
❌She can't help but to laugh.
✅She can't help but laugh.
💡After 'can't help but', use the base verb without 'to'.

5. When you help someone to food or drink, you serve it to them by putting it on th

5.動詞及物B2
釋義

幫忙取用

為某人盛食物或飲料

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.

例句

Aunt Rosa helps each child to a slice of birthday cake at the family party.

Rosa 阿姨在家庭聚會上幫每個孩子盛了一塊生日蛋糕。

helps [sb] to [food] — serving food at a meal

The host helps himself to more rice before passing the bowl around the table.

主人先給自己盛了更多飯，再把飯碗傳到餐桌旁。

同義詞
  • serve

    more common in modern English; 'help (someone) to' is slightly old-fashioned

  • dish out

    informal; used when someone puts food onto plates

文法句型

helps + someone + to + food/drink

helps + oneself + to + food/drink

用法筆記

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.

常見錯誤

❌Please help the soup.
✅Please help yourself to the soup.
💡The verb needs an indirect object (yourself / someone) before the food.

6. If someone helps themselves to something that does not belong to them, they take

6.動詞及物B2
釋義

擅自拿走

未經允許自行取用

If someone helps themselves to something that does not belong to them, they take it without permission, often in a sneaky or dishonest way.

例句

Someone helped themselves to Apinya's lunch from the office refrigerator during the break.

有人在休息時間擅自從辦公室冰箱裡拿走了 Apinya 的午餐。

helped themselves to [sth] — taking without asking

During the party a stranger helped himself to the host's wallet from the hallway table.

派對進行期間，一名陌生男子順手從玄關桌上拿走了主人的錢包。

同義詞
  • 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

反義詞
  • return

    to give something back to its owner

文法句型

helps + oneself + to + noun phrase (something taken)

用法筆記

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').

常見錯誤

❌He helped to my wallet.
✅He helped himself to my wallet.
💡The reflexive pronoun is mandatory for this sense.
❌She helped the cookies from the jar.
✅She helped herself to the cookies from the jar.
💡Always use 'oneself to'.

helps — 名詞

helps — 感嘆詞