質問

最終更新日： 2021年12月11日

WR250X

2021年12月8日

スペイン語 (スペイン)

英語 (イギリス)

英語 (イギリス) に関する質問

I'm in a mess about using 'to help + infinitive' or 'to help + to + infinitive'
Do the sentences 'How could Mary help Arthur study?' and 'How could Mary help Arthur to study?' have the same meaning?
Are there some patterns in which must be used 'to help + infinitive', and not 'to help + to + infinitive'?
Are there some patterns in which must be used 'to help + to + infinitive', and not 'to help + infinitive'?
Or can be used 'to help + infinitive' or 'to help + to + infinitive' either way?

Thank you very much in advance for the attention paid. Your help is very important to us.

回答

highersherdon

2021年12月8日

英語 (イギリス)

The first sentence asks in what way Mary may be able to help. The second asks specifically how Mary can enable Arthur to be better at studying, how he can improve his method.

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Gosta

2021年12月8日

英語 (イギリス)

I think I'd be right in saying that "How could Mary help Arthur to study?" and "how could Mary help Arthur study?" have exactly the same meaning. The longer one (the first example) is perhaps slightly more correct, but there's really no difference. We just sometimes leave out words if the meaning is clear without them. For example, we often leave out "which" or "that" if it isn't vital e.g. "This is the house that I saw yesterday" and "This is the house I saw yesterday" are both entirely acceptable.

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WR250X

2021年12月10日

スペイン語 (スペイン)

@Gosta
I'd like to make me sure that I've got to understand you.
If you want to ask in what way Mary may be able to help Arthur to keep on studying, would you use the sentence "How could Mary help Arthur study?"?
If you want to ask how Mary can enable Arthur to be better at studying, would you also use the sentence "How could Mary help Arthur study?"?
It's very important for me to understand us, and your effort deserves to be understood. Thank you very much for your help!

Gosta

2021年12月10日

英語 (イギリス)

No, I wouldn't agree with this. Just adding the word "to" before "study" does not change the meaning. If you want to ask how Mary can help Arthur to study better, then you will have to say that. "How can Mary help Arthur to study better (or harder)?" would do, or "How can Mary improve Arthur's patterns of study?" Adding or removing the word "to" will not make the change that you want.

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highersherdon

2021年12月10日

英語 (イギリス)

This really depends on context, the sentence do have different meanings but can be used in the same way. Depends how much Jane Austin you've read.

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Gosta

2021年12月10日

英語 (イギリス)

Or Jane Austen for us purists!

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WR250X

2021年12月11日

スペイン語 (スペイン)

@Gosta
Thank you so much for your patience! I've finally understood the structure.
Have a good weekend!

WR250X

2021年12月11日

スペイン語 (スペイン)

@highersherdon
Thank you so much for helping me! Your contribution is very interesting and deserves to keep it in mind henceforth.
Have a good weekend!