Usage of "to help and help"

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Am I correct to say:

I was busy [color=red]to help my mother do kitchen work.

I was busy[color=red] help my mother do kitchen work.

2

I wouldn’t use either sentence.
Try this instead:

  • “I was busy helping my mother…”

If you didn’t have time to help your mother, you could say this:

  • “I was too busy to help my mother …”
    .
3

How about with:

We need help him.
We need to help him.

Which one would be suitable?

4

Thanks Yankee for the reply on my posting. So I would assume that the sentences I made were wrong. Your reply and examples are very helpful for me to analyze my mistakes.

5

Hi Molly,

Do you mean my sentences are wrong? Thanks for the corrections. I’m learning…

6

Yes, they are wrong. Amy was correct.

7

Right, neither one of your original sentences was correct.

It is typical to use a form of the verb ‘be’ followed by ‘busy+doing’.
‘I was busy helping my mother’ basically means ‘I was helping my mother and that activity was keeping me busy’.

Molly’s sentences were different from yours. They used a different verb (need).

Did you also have questions about the use of the verb ‘need’?
.