Helped...up

Question

Can I say,(a) He helped his mother up to the sofa.(b) He helped his mother to the sofa.(c) He helped his mother (up) and sat on the sofa.

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

(a) He helped his mother up to the sofa. -- Not likely unless the sofa was on a raised platform or something like that. If you mean "helped her to sit down" then you could say "helped his mother onto the sofa".

(b) He helped his mother to the sofa. -- OK. For example, he helped her walk across the room to the sofa.

(c) He helped his mother and sat on the sofa. -- If you mean that his sitting on the sofa somehow helped his mother then I suppose this is feasible. Otherwise the sentence is weird and incongruous.

He helped his mother up and sat on the sofa. -- Possible I suppose. "Helped up" would normally be understood to mean "helped up out of a chair" or possibly "helped up from the floor". After doing this he could sit on the sofa ... I suppose.

Vincent Teo · Answer

Thanks, If I give the context like this way:

John's mother fell from the stool. He shouted for help.

(a) He helped his mother up to the sofa.

(b) He helped his mother to the sofa.

(c) He helped his mother (up) and sat on the sofa.

Which is correct?

Mr Wordy · Answer

Thanks, If I give the context like this way:

John's mother fell from the stool. He shouted for help.

(a) He helped his mother up to the sofa. -- Yes, in this context it's OK.

(b) He helped his mother to the sofa. -- OK.

(c) He helped his mother (up) and sat on the sofa. -- Possible, but a few extra words would help to link the two parts of the sentence better: "He helped his mother (up) and then went to sit on the sofa".

Cwtch · Answer

Can I say,

(a) He helped his mother up onto the sofa. In this example, the mother is near the sofa and he helped her sit.

(b) He helped his mother to the sofa. OK

(c) He helped his mother (up) and sat on the sofa. This is not a good sentence. It is too vague. It sounds as if he helped his mother and then he sat on the sofa which isn't what I think you mean. Well, that is unless he wanted her spot on the sofa which doesn't seem like a good son. Therefore, I think what you mean is:

He helped his mother up into a seated position on the sofa.

A problem with all these sentences is that you're trying to convey too much information with too few words. Remember that context is very important and without prior information you must be very clear.

Better still:

The woman was lying on the sofa and unable to sit up on her own. Therefore, her son helped her sit up.

BarbaraPA · Answer

cwtch, Vincent explained that the woman had fallen off the stool, onto the ground.

Vincent Teo · Answer

Thanks. Can Isay,

He helped his mother to sit (up) on the sofa.

BarbaraPA · Answer

Vincent TeoThanks. Can Isay,

He helped his mother to sit (up) on the sofa.

Yes, but only if she is lying down on the sofa and needs to be helped into a sitting position.

Cwtch · Answer

cwtch, Vincent explained that the woman had fallen off the stool, onto the ground.

For some reason I didn't see that part.

Then it would be:

a) He helped his mother get up and to the sofa.

But better:

He helped his mother get up from the floor where she had fallen and then he helped her to the sofa.

But it will vary with how much prior context is provided:

His mother had fallen off her stool and onto the floor. He helped her get up and helped her to the sofa.

But how did he help her? We can add more information and color to the sentence without any additional words.

His mother had fallen off her stool and onto the floor. He helped her get up and held her arm to the sofa.

Cwtch · Answer

“Thanks. Can Isay,

He helped his mother to sit (up) on the sofa. You could, but it is awkward. We would omit "to". Better: He helped his mother sit (up) on the sofa.

"To sit" is the infinitive of the verb. It conjugates:

To sit (This is the infinitive or root of the verb)

I sit

You sit

He sits

We sit

You sit

They sit

Generally, we use the infinitive only in special circumstances. For instance, if it becomes a noun. Yes, a verb can be a noun.

"To sit feels good when you are tired" In this sentence, "to sit" is the subject, "feels" is the verb, "good" is used as an adverb to describe feels and "when you are tired" is a qualifing prepositional phrase.

Note: Technically, "good" is an adjective used to describe nouns. "Well" is the related adverb.

He swims well. He is a good swimmer.

However, in normal American dialect English, feelings are followed by good rather than well, even though technically "well" is correct. We will say, "I feel good." If you say, "I feel well", you will sound stuffy, arrogant and like you swallowed a dictionary.

Mr Wordy · Answer

cwtcha) He helped his mother get up and to the sofa.

This isn't natural to me.

Helped...up

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