Help past tense

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Meaning of help

to give assistance to; make it easier for someone to do something.

Infinitive

Word: help /hɛlp/
Examples:
  • 1. Every weekend, she helps out at the local animal shelter.
  • 2. He always helps his kids with their homework in the evenings.
  • 3. Volunteers help organize the community food drive every month.

Past Simple

Word: helped /hɛlpt/
Examples:
  • 1. She helped her brother with his homework yesterday.
  • 2. They helped organize the charity event last weekend.
  • 3. He helped me find my lost keys this morning.

Past Participle

Word: helped /hɛlpt/
Examples:
  • 1. By the end of the day, they had helped clean up the entire park.
  • 2. She had helped organize the charity event, contributing to its success.
  • 3. He had helped his neighbor fix the fence after the storm.

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Bare infinitive

  1. a. Habitual actions or routines.
    Example. He helps his mom with the dishes every evening.
    Example. Water helps plants grow.
    Example. I help because I care.
  2. b. General truths or facts.
    Example. He helps his mom with the dishes every evening.
    Example. Water helps plants grow.
    Example. I help because I care.
  3. d. With stative verbs to describe states, feelings, or thoughts that do not show action.
    Example. He helps his mom with the dishes every evening.
    Example. Water helps plants grow.
    Example. I help because I care.

Past Simple

  1. a. Completed actions in the past with a specific time.
    Example. He helped his friend move last Saturday.
    Example. She helped serve dinner, cleaned the kitchen, and then went to bed early.
    Example. When we were kids, we often helped our grandparents in the garden.
    Example. She said she helped her neighbor yesterday.
  2. b. A series of completed actions in the past.
    Example. He helped his friend move last Saturday.
    Example. She helped serve dinner, cleaned the kitchen, and then went to bed early.
    Example. When we were kids, we often helped our grandparents in the garden.
    Example. She said she helped her neighbor yesterday.
  3. c. Past habits or states.
    Example. He helped his friend move last Saturday.
    Example. She helped serve dinner, cleaned the kitchen, and then went to bed early.
    Example. When we were kids, we often helped our grandparents in the garden.
    Example. She said she helped her neighbor yesterday.
  4. d. In indirect speech, to report what someone said.
    Example. He helped his friend move last Saturday.
    Example. She helped serve dinner, cleaned the kitchen, and then went to bed early.
    Example. When we were kids, we often helped our grandparents in the garden.
    Example. She said she helped her neighbor yesterday.

Past Participle

  1. a. In perfect tenses to show completed actions.
    Example. She has helped at the shelter for years.
    Example. By the time we arrived, they had already helped themselves.
    Example. By next month, we will have helped organize three fundraisers.
    Example. The dinner was helped to be prepared by the whole family.
    Example. With the house cleaned and the food prepared, they felt helped and relieved.
  2. i. Present Perfect. for actions that happened at an unspecified time before now or actions that started in the past and continue to the present.
    Example. She has helped at the shelter for years.
    Example. By the time we arrived, they had already helped themselves.
    Example. By next month, we will have helped organize three fundraisers.
    Example. The dinner was helped to be prepared by the whole family.
    Example. With the house cleaned and the food prepared, they felt helped and relieved.
  3. ii. Past Perfect. for actions that were completed before another action in the past.
    Example. She has helped at the shelter for years.
    Example. By the time we arrived, they had already helped themselves.
    Example. By next month, we will have helped organize three fundraisers.
    Example. The dinner was helped to be prepared by the whole family.
    Example. With the house cleaned and the food prepared, they felt helped and relieved.
  4. iii. Future Perfect. for actions that will be completed before a specific time in the future.
    Example. She has helped at the shelter for years.
    Example. By the time we arrived, they had already helped themselves.
    Example. By next month, we will have helped organize three fundraisers.
    Example. The dinner was helped to be prepared by the whole family.
    Example. With the house cleaned and the food prepared, they felt helped and relieved.
  5. b. In passive voice to show that an action was done by someone or something.
    Example. She has helped at the shelter for years.
    Example. By the time we arrived, they had already helped themselves.
    Example. By next month, we will have helped organize three fundraisers.
    Example. The dinner was helped to be prepared by the whole family.
    Example. With the house cleaned and the food prepared, they felt helped and relieved.
  6. c. As an adjective to describe a condition resulting from a previous action.
    Example. She has helped at the shelter for years.
    Example. By the time we arrived, they had already helped themselves.
    Example. By next month, we will have helped organize three fundraisers.
    Example. The dinner was helped to be prepared by the whole family.
    Example. With the house cleaned and the food prepared, they felt helped and relieved.

Common mistakes

— 01

Confusing Irregular Verbs

Regular verbs add '-ed' to form both the past simple and past participle (e.g., 'walk' becomes 'walked' for both forms). However, irregular verbs do not follow this pattern (e.g., 'sing' becomes 'sang' in past simple and 'sung' in past participle). Learners often mistakenly apply the '-ed' rule to irregular verbs, leading to errors such as using 'teached' instead of the correct forms 'taught' (past simple) and 'taught' (past participle) for the verb 'teach.'

— 02

Incorrect Past Participle

Another frequent mistake involves using the past simple form of a verb instead of the past participle when forming perfect tenses. This error affects the meaning and grammatical accuracy of a sentence. For example, incorrectly saying 'I have went to the store' instead of the correct 'I have gone to the store.' The past participle form 'gone' is required with 'have' to correctly form the present perfect tense.

— 03

Omitting Auxiliary Verbs

A mistake often seen is forgetting to include the auxiliary verb when using the past participle in perfect tenses or passive voice constructions. For instance, saying 'She finished by the team' instead of the correct 'She was finished by the team' (passive voice) or 'I done my homework' instead of 'I have done my homework' (present perfect). These errors stem from not recognizing the need for an auxiliary verb to accompany the past participle, leading to sentences that are grammatically incorrect and potentially confusing.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the past simple and past participle forms of 'help'?

The past simple form of 'help' is 'helped'. The past participle form is also 'helped'. Both forms are used in different grammatical constructions but share the same spelling.

How do you use 'helped' in a past simple sentence?

To use 'helped' in a past simple sentence, you typically conjugate the sentence with a subject followed by 'helped' and then the object or action. This form is used to describe an action that was completed at a specific time in the past. For example. 'She helped her brother with his homework yesterday.'

How is the past participle 'helped' used in sentences?

The past participle 'helped' is commonly used in perfect tenses and passive voice constructions. In perfect tenses, it is used with auxiliary verbs like 'have', 'has', or 'had'. In passive voice, it is used with forms of 'to be'. Examples include. Perfect tense. 'They have helped clean the community park.' Passive voice. 'The community park was helped by their efforts.'

Can you give an example of 'helped' used in both the past simple and in a past participle construction?

Yes, here's an example that illustrates the use of 'helped' in both contexts. Past Simple. 'Last Saturday, I helped my friend move to a new apartment.' This sentence indicates that the action of helping occurred at a specific time in the past, which was last Saturday. Past Participle in Perfect Tense. 'By the end of the day, I had helped my friend settle into the new place.' This sentence uses 'had helped' to show that the action of helping was completed before a certain point in the past, which is the end of the day mentioned. Past Participle in Passive Voice. 'My friend was helped by many of us during the move.' This sentence is in the passive voice, indicating that the action of helping was performed on my friend by an unspecified subject, which, in context, includes the speaker and possibly others. These examples help demonstrate how 'helped' functions in different grammatical constructions to convey actions in the past.