¿Me ayudas?
The easiest way to ask for help: ¿Me ayudas? (informal) or ¿Me puede ayudar? (formal). To say what with: ayudar con (me ayudó con los deberes) or ayudar a + infinitive (me ayudó a estudiar). In an emergency: ¡Socorro! or ¡Ayuda!
Indicative tenses of ayudar
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | ayudoI help |
|---|---|
| tú | ayudasyou help |
| él/ella/usted | ayudahe/she helps |
| nosotros/as | ayudamoswe help |
| vosotros/as | ayudáisyou all help |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ayudanthey help |
Fully regular. Helping someone do something: ayudar a + infinitive.
Preterite indicative
| yo | ayudéI helped |
|---|---|
| tú | ayudasteyou helped |
| él/ella/usted | ayudóhe/she helped |
| nosotros/as | ayudamoswe helped |
| vosotros/as | ayudasteisyou all helped |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ayudaronthey helped |
Imperfect indicative
| yo | ayudabaI used to help |
|---|---|
| tú | ayudabasyou used to help |
| él/ella/usted | ayudabahe/she used to help |
| nosotros/as | ayudábamoswe used to help |
| vosotros/as | ayudabaisyou all used to help |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ayudabanthey used to help |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy ayudandoI am helping |
|---|---|
| tú | estás ayudandoyou are helping |
| él/ella/usted | está ayudandohe/she is helping |
| nosotros/as | estamos ayudandowe are helping |
| vosotros/as | estáis ayudandoyou all are helping |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están ayudandothey are helping |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a ayudarI am going to help |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a ayudaryou are going to help |
| él/ella/usted | va a ayudarhe/she is going to help |
| nosotros/as | vamos a ayudarwe are going to help |
| vosotros/as | vais a ayudaryou all are going to help |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a ayudarthey are going to help |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | ayudaréI will help |
|---|---|
| tú | ayudarásyou will help |
| él/ella/usted | ayudaráhe/she will help |
| nosotros/as | ayudaremoswe will help |
| vosotros/as | ayudaréisyou all will help |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ayudaránthey will help |
Conditional indicative
| yo | ayudaríaI would help |
|---|---|
| tú | ayudaríasyou would help |
| él/ella/usted | ayudaríahe/she would help |
| nosotros/as | ayudaríamoswe would help |
| vosotros/as | ayudaríaisyou all would help |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ayudaríanthey would help |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he ayudadoI have helped |
|---|---|
| tú | has ayudadoyou have helped |
| él/ella/usted | ha ayudadohe/she has helped |
| nosotros/as | hemos ayudadowe have helped |
| vosotros/as | habéis ayudadoyou all have helped |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han ayudadothey have helped |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había ayudadoI had helped |
|---|---|
| tú | habías ayudadoyou had helped |
| él/ella/usted | había ayudadohe/she had helped |
| nosotros/as | habíamos ayudadowe had helped |
| vosotros/as | habíais ayudadoyou all had helped |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían ayudadothey had helped |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré ayudadoI will have helped |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás ayudadoyou will have helped |
| él/ella/usted | habrá ayudadohe/she will have helped |
| nosotros/as | habremos ayudadowe will have helped |
| vosotros/as | habréis ayudadoyou all will have helped |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán ayudadothey will have helped |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría ayudadoI would have helped |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías ayudadoyou would have helped |
| él/ella/usted | habría ayudadohe/she would have helped |
| nosotros/as | habríamos ayudadowe would have helped |
| vosotros/as | habríais ayudadoyou all would have helped |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían ayudadothey would have helped |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of ayudar
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | ayude(that) I help |
|---|---|
| tú | ayudes(that) you help |
| él/ella/usted | ayude(that) he/she helps |
| nosotros/as | ayudemos(that) we help |
| vosotros/as | ayudéis(that) you all help |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ayuden(that) they help |
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | ayudara(if) I helped |
|---|---|
| tú | ayudaras(if) you helped |
| él/ella/usted | ayudara(if) he/she helped |
| nosotros/as | ayudáramos(if) we helped |
| vosotros/as | ayudarais(if) you all helped |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ayudaran(if) they helped |
Future subjunctive
| yo | ayudare(if) I help |
|---|---|
| tú | ayudares(if) you help |
| él/ella/usted | ayudare(if) he/she helps |
| nosotros/as | ayudáremos(if) we help |
| vosotros/as | ayudareis(if) you all help |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ayudaren(if) they help |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya ayudado(that) I have helped |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas ayudado(that) you have helped |
| él/ella/usted | haya ayudado(that) he/she has helped |
| nosotros/as | hayamos ayudado(that) we have helped |
| vosotros/as | hayáis ayudado(that) you all have helped |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan ayudado(that) they have helped |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera ayudado(if) I had helped |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras ayudado(if) you had helped |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera ayudado(if) he/she had helped |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos ayudado(if) we had helped |
| vosotros/as | hubierais ayudado(if) you all had helped |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran ayudado(if) they had helped |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere ayudado(if) I will have helped |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres ayudado(if) you will have helped |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere ayudado(if) he/she will have helped |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos ayudado(if) we will have helped |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis ayudado(if) you all will have helped |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren ayudado(if) they will have helped |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of ayudar
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | ayudahelp! |
|---|---|
| usted | ayudehelp! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | ayudemoslet's help! |
| vosotros/as | ayudadhelp! (you all) |
| ustedes | ayudenhelp! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no ayudesdon't help! |
|---|---|
| usted | no ayudedon't help! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no ayudemoslet's not help! |
| vosotros/as | no ayudéisdon't help! (you all) |
| ustedes | no ayudendon't help! (you all, formal) |
Practice ayudar
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and ayudar.
How to use ayudar
¿Me ayudas, por favor?
Can you help me, please?
Te ayudo a llevar las bolsas.
I'll help you carry the bags.
Mi hermano me ayudó con los deberes.
My brother helped me with my homework.
Escuchar podcasts ayuda mucho.
Listening to podcasts helps a lot.
¿En qué le puedo ayudar?
How can I help you?
Example sentences with ayudar
- Siempre ayudo a mis padres.I always help my parents.
- ¿Quién te ayudó?Who helped you?
- Mis amigos me ayudaron con la mudanza.My friends helped me with the move.
- De pequeño ayudaba en la cocina.As a kid I used to help in the kitchen.
- Te ayudaré en lo que pueda.I'll help you however I can.
- Ayúdame con esto.Help me with this.
- Gracias por ayudarme.Thanks for helping me.
- Este canal me ha ayudado mucho.This channel has helped me a lot.
Verbs like ayudar
Ayudar follows the regular -ar pattern, like hablar and cuidar (to look after).
Frequently asked questions about ayudar
Is ayudar regular or irregular?
Ayudar is completely regular in every tense.
How do you conjugate ayudar in the present tense?
ayudo, ayudas, ayuda, ayudamos, ayudáis, ayudan.
How do you conjugate ayudar in the preterite?
ayudé, ayudaste, ayudó, ayudamos, ayudasteis, ayudaron.
Is it "ayudar a" or "ayudar con"?
Ayudar a + infinitive (ayudar a cocinar); ayudar con + noun (ayudar con la cena).
How do you say "can you help me?"
¿Me ayudas? (informal) or ¿Me puede ayudar? (formal).
What is the past participle of ayudar?
The past participle is ayudado and the gerund is ayudando.
Free cheat sheet
All 18 tenses of ayudar, on one page.
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