The irregular verb "helfen" in German
Meaning, conjugation, pronunciation and examples of the verb 'helfen' (to help)
Meaning of "helfen" in German
The verb "helfen" means:
1.-to help
Er hat mir geholfen zu übersetzen
He helped me translate
Mir hilft es, wenn du bei mir bist
It helps when you’re with me
Structure:
helfen + [Dative] (the person being helped) + bei + Dative (what one is helping with)
Ich helfe Ihnen gerne bei der Hausarbeit
I gladly help you with the housework
Grammar of "helfen"
helfen is an irregular verb.
| Verb | 3rd Person | Präteritum | Partizip II | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| helfen | hilft | half | geholfen | to help |
Main article: Irregular verbs
Conjugation of "helfen"
Present simple (Präsens Indikativ)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich helfe | I help |
| du hilfst | you help |
| er/sie/es hilft | he/she/it help |
| wir helfen | we help |
| ihr helft | you help |
| sie helfen | they help |
Hilfst du mir bei den Hausaufgaben?
Will you help me with the homework?
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich habe geholfen | I have helped |
| du hast geholfen | you have helped |
| er/sie/es hat geholfen | he/she/it has helped |
| wir haben geholfen | we have helped |
| ihr habt geholfen | you have helped |
| sie haben geholfen | they have helped |
Dein Tipp hat mir sehr geholfen
Your advice helped me a lot
Als sie den Unfall sahen, haben sie sofort geholfen
When they saw the accident, they immediately went to help
Simple past (Präteritum)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich half | I helped |
| du halfst | you helped |
| er/sie/es half | he/she/it helped |
| wir halfen | we help |
| ihr halft | you help |
| sie halfen | they help |
The simple past is hardly used in southern Germany and in spoken German. Often, the present perfect is used instead.
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II)
| Conjugation |
|---|
| ich hälfe |
| du hälfest/hälfst |
| er/sie/es hälfe |
| wir hälfen |
| ihr hälfet/hälft |
| sie hälfen |
Participle (Partizip)
| Partizip I | Partizip II |
|---|---|
| helfend (helping) | geholfen (helped) |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd person singular | hilf | help |
| 2nd person plural | helft | help |
| Polite form | helfen Sie | help |
Verbs with the stem "helfen"
| Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mithelfen | to cooperate (separable verb) |
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