How do you say it in Italian?
Posso aiutarti?
| Pronunciation | |
| Words you should know | Potere (can) + aiutare (to help) |
| When to use this | With 1 person you’re familiar with |
| When NOT to use this | With strangers and groups |
If you want to offer your help to a stranger, your boss at work or someone you need to show respect to, you will need to use the formal “you” pronoun.
Posso aiutarla?
| Pronunciation | |
| When to use this | With a stranger |
| When NOT to use this | With people you know well |
So if your boss falls and scrapes their knee, you will ask posso aiutarLA?.
If your friend needs help, you will ask them posso aiutarTI?.
You will often hear this in shops:
| Come posso aiutarla? | How can I help you? |
If you use the informal you with your boss or a stranger, it may sound weird. You may even sound rude, so be careful not to confuse the two forms!
Posso aiutarvi?
| Pronunciation | |
| When to use this | With a group of people |
| When NOT to use this | With 1 person at a time |
If you see a couple needing help, ask posso aiutarVI? as in this way you will address both people or all people in a given group.
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How do you say “Let me help you!”? Do you use “lasciare”? Translator apps give the phrase “lasci che l’aiuti” which I don’t really understand. Why is it “aiuti”? Thank you.
Hi Emily, there are different translations for this sentence depending on who you are talking to.
Lascia che ti aiuti – informal (your friend, your brother, etc.)
Lasciate che vi aiuti – plural, both formal and informal
Lasci che l’aiuti – polite (your boss, a clerk, etc.)
As for “aiuti”, it’s because in this type of sentence structure “lasciare che…”, the verb must be conjugated in the subjunctive mood.
The first-person present subjunctive for “aiutare” is che io aiuti. This is why we say lascia che ti aiuti!
Other examples with “lasciare che” using the subjunctive case:
Lascia che porti lui la valigia – Let him carry the suitcase (portare, “che io porti”)
Lasciate che Marta pulisca la cucina da sola – Let Marta clean the kitchen alone (pulire, “che lei pulisca”)
Lasci che sia io a pagare il conto – Let me be the one to pay the bill (essere, “che io sia”)
Hope this helps!