ASKING AND OFFERING HELP

By Ma’am Yuri

1.      Definition
Asking and offering for help is one of the expression in English which states that we ask
and provide assistance to someone. Usually the asking / offering for help sentence starts
with the capital Auxiliaries in the form of can, may, will, will, shall, should, may, might, and
must.

2.      What the purpose of the ekspression ?

The purpose of this expression is to ask for help and offer help

3.      When is the expression use ?

This expression is used when we want to ask for help and offer help.

4.      Examples
a.       Asking for help sentence
·      Can you help me? (Bisakah kamu menolongku)
·      Could you please give me a hand? (Bisakah kamu menolong saya?)
·      Would you like to help me? (Maukah kamu menolongku?)

b.      Responses for Accepting for Help 

·      Okay (Baiklah)
·      Yes, I can. (Ya, aku bisa)
·      Okay, No problem. (Tentu, tidak masalah)

c.       Responses for Declining for Help 

·         I'm sorry, I can't. (Maafkan aku, aku tidak bisa)
·         Sorry, I can't do it. (Maaf, aku tidak bisa melakukannya)
·         Sorry, I'm busy. (Maaf, aku sibuk)

d.      Offering For help

·     May I help you? (bolehkah aku membantumu?)
·     Would you like to help me? (bisakah kau membantuku?)
·       Could you pass the salt over there, please? (bisakah anda mengoper garam di
sebelah sana tolong?)

e.       Accepting Offers
·       Thank you. (terimakasih)
·       Yes, please. (ya tolong)
·       I'd like it very much. (aku akan sangat menyukainya)

f.       Declining Offers
·      No thanks. (tidak terimakasih)
·       I can't, thanks anyway (aku tidak bisa, terimakasih)
·       No, I really won't, thank you (tidak, aku tidak mau, terimakasih)
5.      Conversations
Risna : Hello Janah you looks so busy, may I help you?
Janah : Yes I am. Could you please print out that paper?
Risna : Sure, and where should I print it ?
Janah : Please print out this at “print200” store.
Risna : Okay Miss Ratu. Is there anything else?
Janah : No it's enough. Thank you very much for your help Risna.
Risna : Your welcome.

6 expressions to offer help in English

How to offer help in English

When you want to offer help, how do you make your offer in English? It’s very common for
English speakers to offer help in the conversation just to be polite and helpful. So there are
some certain expressions that we use in order to make your offer. And what exact
expressions are used? It’s always nice to offer help, right? A lot of English learners get a little
nervous to open their mouth when they want to help. So I’m sure these expressions are
really helpful to you.

Let’s have a look at some expressions:

Can I …?
When you start making your offer, you might say “Can I …?”. “Can I…?” is always a good
choice of expression, especially when you are in a social situation. Like when you are in a
party or you have guests at home.

 Can I get you a coffee?

 Can I be of any assistance to you? (Can I help you?)

Shall I…?
You can begin to make your offer by using the phrase “Shall I…?”. This is a pretty formal way
of speaking. You can use this phrase when you are at work, at school or at any formal
places.

 Shall I help you with your work?

 Shall I take care of these files?

Would you like …?

You can offer help in another formal way by using the phrase “Would you like…?”.

 Would you like to dance with me?

 Would you like to add some milk?
Do you want me to…?
There are times, you are not sure if your help would be welcome. With a nice heart, you do
make an offer. However, you are not sure if the other person is really happy. In that case
you can say:

 Do you want me to repair the computer for you?

 Do you need me to check your math?

After making the offer, you wait for the answer. Don’t go ahead and start helping. Just wait
for an answer. If your offer is welcome, then go ahead and help them. But if someone
refuses your help, don’t worry about it.

I’d be glad to help…

What you use the phrase “I’d be glad to help…”, it means that you are really happy to help,
you are very excited. And you are very positive that your offer would definitely be helpful,
and will be happily accepted by the other person. So you just say:

 I would be glad to help you making a phone call.

 I would be glad to give you a ride.
 I would be glad to assist you with your homework.

Accept offers
There are situations you accept offers or decline offers. When you are at the other end,
someone is asking if he/she can help you. How do you accept it? Or, how do you decline it?

Here are some phrases that you can use to respond to any offers. If someone asks you
politely, you might say “Yes, please. I’d like to / I’d love to”.

A: Would you like to have a coffee?

B: Oh, yes please. I’d love to.

When you are at work and your colleague comes up to you and offer help. And you are
happy that he/she is ready to assist you with the work. You don’t want to show on your face
that you are very excited about their help. The best way to accept the offer by saying:

A: Shall I take care of these files?

B: If you wouldn’t mind.

You are at a party and someone offers you a drink. You can say thank you and show that you
are excited about their help.

A: Would you like to have another piece of cake?

B: Thank you. That would be great.

Decline offers
There are times you really don’t want any help, how do you decline the offer made?

When you want to decline the offers without saying something very rude like “No. I’ll
manage.”. You might say:

A: Would you like me to help you with this?

B: It’s OK. I can do it myself.

When you are at a shopping mall, you are looking to buy something. A staff in the store
comes up and offer a help.

A: Are you looking for something? Do you need my help?

B: Don’t worry. I’ll do it.

The simplest way to decline the offers is to say: “No, thank you.”

A: Would you like to drink some tea?

B: No, thank you.