Confusing English Words – aid / assist / help

بسیاری از کلمات وجود دارند که معنی یکسانی دارند، اما در واقع تعاریف و کاربردهای مختلفی دارند.
شما می خواهید درست صحبت کنید و از به کار بردن کلمات نادرست خودداری کنید، اما در مورد معنی دقیق و کاربرد هر کلمه کاملا مطمئن نیستید.
بعضی از زبان آموزان حتی به دلیل تردیدهایشان از به کار بردن کلمات خودداری می کنند!
هدف ما در این سری از پست ها روشن کردن رایج ترین کلمات گیج کننده در انگلیسی است.

aid / assist / help

.There is no difference in meaning between these three words, but there are some slight differences in the way they fit in the sentence

.Help is the most common and most informal (aid and assist are both more formal)

:Aid is more commonly used as a noun, not a verb

a hearing aid is a small electronic device that helps people with hearing problems to hear better

first aid is the initial medical care given immediately after an accident or injury

government aid is official help from the government

humanitarian aid is helping people who are suffering after a disaster, or suffering from disease, poverty, or war

.There is also a word aide (pronounced the same way!) which refers to a person whose task is to help – an assistant. A nurse’s aide, a teacher’s aide, etc

.Now let’s look at the two verbs: help and assist

:”After help, we can use a verb with or without “to

.He helped me understand the lesson. = He helped me to understand the lesson

?Can you help us carry these books? = Can you help us to carry these books

.”In everyday spoken English, it’s probably more common not to use “to

:After assist, we must use in + -ING form of the verb or with + noun

.I’m happy to assist you in creating a website
.I’m happy to assist you with your website

.This program assists people in finding a job
.This program assists people with their job search

:The noun form of help is also help, but the noun form of assist is assistance

.Correct: Thank you for your help
.Correct: Thank you for your assistance
.Wrong: Thank you for your assist

.I’m so grateful for all the help I’ve received from the team
.I’m so grateful for all the assistance I’ve received from the team