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Help to or just help?

Posted by R. Berg on May 31, 2003

In Reply to: Help to or just help? posted by EE on May 31, 2003

: : : Am I right that the British always use "to" between help and the verb after it e.g. "I hope the story will HELP you TO UNDERSTAND the point.", while Americans always skip the "to" between help and the verb after it, e.g. "I hope the story will HELP you UNDERSTAND the point."?

: : No, Americans sometimes use the "to."

: Then how do you decide when to use "to" and when not to use it?

"To" is usually present in formal or academic writing and often absent in informal writing. I think it's nearly always absent in speech. Saying "Help me to lift these boxes" would sound stilted.

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