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Fijisurf
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verb help 18 Nov 2010, 14:27
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Should the verb "help" be followed by infinitive or "-ing" form of the verb?

For example,

"help discussing"

or

"help to discuss"

Thanks.



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verb help 18 Nov 2010, 15:53
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Fijisurf,

Unfortunately, there is no black and white rule here. Both work in different contexts:

"Could you please help clean the house?" --> Here, "help clean" is a verb phrase, so you'd want to use "help" + the infinitive without the "to".

"I need help cleaning the house." --> Here, the verb is "need" and "cleaning the house" is the noun phrase. As a result, you would use the participial form "cleaning" rather than the verb form "clean."

The point, then, is that it really depends on the meaning and the structure of the sentence.

Brett
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verb help 18 Nov 2010, 16:45
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Thanks.
This actually clears things a little.

Are there situations when "help to clean" is correct?
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Werewolf
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verb help 18 Nov 2010, 19:53
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I too find 'help to do', 'help in doing' , 'aid in...', 'aid to...' very confusing and difficult. Hope I can follow Brett's advice and get these right in the future.
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verb help 21 Nov 2010, 10:47
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Werewolf,

I wouldn't stress yourself out about this concept. Just know that you aren't going to eliminate any answers purely on the basis of the word that follows "help."

That said, you wouldn't use "help in" unless it were followed by a noun (e.g. math):

I need help in math. --> OK
I need help in learning math. --> Incorrect. Don't need the "in."
I need help learning math. --> OK
I need help to learn math. --> OK

Brett
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verb help 21 Nov 2010, 10:57
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Thanks.
I think I understand the subject a little better now.
But I still hope that GMAT will not test just this concept alone.
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verb help 22 Nov 2010, 21:14
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Fijisurf
Thanks.
I think I understand the subject a little better now.
But I still hope that GMAT will not test just this concept alone.
Show more

The exact thing I had in mind.

Thanks for your help Brett.



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Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
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Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
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