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SPANISH VERB

ayudar

to help

  • #79 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: ayudando
  • Past participle: ayudado

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I help
  2. tú you help
  3. usted, él, ella he/she helps
  4. nosotros we help
  5. vosotros Spain you all help
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they help

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I helped
  2. tú you helped
  3. usted, él, ella he/she helped
  4. nosotros we helped
  5. vosotros Spain you all helped
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they helped

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to help
  2. tú you used to help
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to help
  4. nosotros we used to help
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to help
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to help

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will help
  2. tú you will help
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will help
  4. nosotros we will help
  5. vosotros Spain you all will help
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will help

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would help
  2. tú you would help
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would help
  4. nosotros we would help
  5. vosotros Spain you all would help
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would help

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I help
  2. tú (that) you help
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she help
  4. nosotros (that) we help
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all help
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they help

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I helped
  2. tú (if) you helped
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she helped
  4. nosotros (if) we helped
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all helped
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they helped

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú help!
  2. usted help! (formal)
  3. nosotros help! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain help! (all of you)
  5. ustedes help! (all of you)

How to use ayudar

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    ¿Te ayudo con las bolsas del súper?

    Can I help you with the grocery bags?

  2. Past

    Mis vecinos me ayudaron con la mudanza.

    My neighbors helped me with the move.

  3. Imperfect

    De niño, ayudaba a mi papá en la tienda.

    As a boy, I helped my dad at the store.

  4. Future

    Te ayudaré con la tarea después de cenar.

    I will help you with your homework after dinner.

  5. Conditional

    Ayudaría con gusto, pero no sé cocinar.

    I would gladly help, but I can't cook.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Necesito que me ayudes a mover el sofá.

    I need you to help me move the couch.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Le pedí a Diego que me ayudara con las maletas.

    I asked Diego to help me with the suitcases.

  8. Imperative

    Ayuda a tu hermana con los platos, por favor.

    Help your sister with the dishes, please.

Good to know

  • Ayudar a alguien a hacer algo: to help someone do something.

Where you hear ayudar

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Beginner Level 1

  • Ayudo a mi amiga con el español. I help my friend with Spanish.
  • Mateo me ayudó mucho en la playa. Mateo helped me a lot at the beach.
  • Mañana voy a ayudar a Paola. Tomorrow I'm going to help Paola.

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • Lupita, ayúdame, por favor. Lupita, help me, please.
  • Sara me ayudó mucho hoy. Sarah helped me a lot today.
  • Te voy a ayudar. I'm going to help you.
24
I'm Looking for a Present

Beginner Level 1 · ayudar · ¿Le puedo ayudar?

Needs a subscription 29
I'm Going to Miss You

Beginner Level 1 · Me ayudaste mucho. · Me ayudaron mucho.

Needs a subscription 7
I'd Like to Help

Beginner Level 2 · ayudarla

Needs a subscription 19
Don't Move!

Beginner Level 2 · Ayúdame. · ayudarme

Needs a subscription 3
What Will You Do?

Beginner Level 3 · la ayudaré

Needs a subscription 6
Could You Recommend Something?

Beginner Level 3 · ayudarme

Needs a subscription 8
I'll Take You

Beginner Level 3 · ¿Te ayudo?

Needs a subscription 15
A Flat Tyre

Beginner Level 3 · nos puede ayudar

Needs a subscription 24
The Posada

Beginner Level 3 · ayudé

Needs a subscription 2
The First Day

Intermediate Level 1 · que la ayude

Free 15
Moving Day

Intermediate Level 1 · te estoy ayudando · a menos que tú no ayudes

Needs a subscription 17
The Neighbours

Intermediate Level 1 · me ayudó

Needs a subscription

And 5 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.