Introduction
Ayudar means «to help». Ayudar is the verb for helping people: helping a friend move house, helping a child with homework, helping a stranger with directions. It is regular, friendly and extremely common, and it usually appears with a + a person and a + an infinitive. It is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of ayudar in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example: «Yo ayudo a mi hermano todos los días.» — I help my brother every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | ayudar |
| English | to help |
| Verb type | Regular -ar verb |
| Gerund | ayudando |
| Past participle | ayudado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: ayudando · Past participle: ayudado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ayudo |
| tú | ayudas |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayuda |
| nosotros/as | ayudamos |
| vosotros/as | ayudáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ayudan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For ayudar, the yo form is ayudo, as in «Yo ayudo» in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ayudé |
| tú | ayudaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudó |
| nosotros/as | ayudamos |
| vosotros/as | ayudasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ayudaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo ayudé» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ayudaba |
| tú | ayudabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudaba |
| nosotros/as | ayudábamos |
| vosotros/as | ayudabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ayudaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo ayudaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ayudaré |
| tú | ayudarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudará |
| nosotros/as | ayudaremos |
| vosotros/as | ayudaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ayudarán |
The future tense states what will happen. For ayudar the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo ayudaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ayudaría |
| tú | ayudarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudaría |
| nosotros/as | ayudaríamos |
| vosotros/as | ayudaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ayudarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo ayudaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he ayudado |
| tú | has ayudado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha ayudado |
| nosotros/as | hemos ayudado |
| vosotros/as | habéis ayudado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han ayudado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he ayudado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había ayudado |
| tú | habías ayudado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había ayudado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos ayudado |
| vosotros/as | habíais ayudado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían ayudado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había ayudado». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré ayudado |
| tú | habrás ayudado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá ayudado |
| nosotros/as | habremos ayudado |
| vosotros/as | habréis ayudado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán ayudado |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré ayudado» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría ayudado |
| tú | habrías ayudado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría ayudado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos ayudado |
| vosotros/as | habríais ayudado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían ayudado |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría ayudado si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ayude |
| tú | ayudes |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayude |
| nosotros/as | ayudemos |
| vosotros/as | ayudéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ayuden |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él ayude». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ayudara |
| tú | ayudaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudara |
| nosotros/as | ayudáramos |
| vosotros/as | ayudarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ayudaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él ayudara, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | ayuda |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayude |
| nosotros/as | ayudemos |
| vosotros/as | ayudad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ayuden |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Ayuda!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | ayudes |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayude |
| nosotros/as | ayudemos |
| vosotros/as | ayudéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ayuden |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No ayudes!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.
Example sentences
- Yo ayudo a mi hermano todos los días. — I help my brother every day.
- Mi hermana ayuda a mi hermano mucho. — My sister helps my brother a lot.
- Ayer yo ayudé a mi hermano por la tarde. — Yesterday I helped my brother in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo ayudaba a mi hermano muchas veces. — As a child, I used to help my brother often.
- Mañana yo ayudaré a mi hermano sin falta. — Tomorrow I will help my brother without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo ayudaría a mi hermano ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would help my brother right now.
- Hoy yo he ayudado con la mudanza dos veces. — Today I have helped with the move twice.
- Espero que él ayude a mi hermano pronto. — I hope he helps my brother soon.
- ¡Ayuda a tu hermano con la mudanza! — Help your brother with the move!
- Ahora mismo estoy ayudando a mi hermano. — Right now I am helping my brother.
Common mistakes
1. Forgetting the accent in the preterite
Wrong: ayude
Right: ayudé
The yo preterite of ayudar carries a written accent: ayudé. Without it, ayude is the present subjunctive yo form, a completely different tense.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo ayudaba a mi hermano.
Right: Ayer yo ayudé a mi hermano.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, ayudé. The imperfect ayudaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Ayudo a mi hermano hacer la tarea.
Right: Ayudo a mi hermano a hacer la tarea.
Ayudar a + infinitive needs the preposition a before the second verb. Dropping it is one of the most frequent mistakes with ayudar.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú ayudas a mi hermano.
Right: Espero que tú ayudes a mi hermano.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: ayudes, not the indicative ayudas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No ayuda a mi hermano.
Right: No ayudes a mi hermano.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no ayudes. The affirmative ayuda can never follow no.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of ayudar in the present tense?
- (a) ayuda
- (b) ayudamos
- (c) ayudas
- (d) ayudo
2. What is the él/ella form of ayudar in the preterite?
- (a) ayudamos
- (b) ayudaste
- (c) ayudé
- (d) ayudó
3. What is the nosotros form of ayudar in the imperfect?
- (a) ayudaba
- (b) ayudabas
- (c) ayudábamos
4. What is the tú form of ayudar in the future tense?
- (a) ayudaremos
- (b) ayudará
- (c) ayudarás
- (d) ayudaré
5. What is the ellos form of ayudar in the conditional?
- (a) ayudaría
- (b) ayudarían
- (c) ayudarías
6. What is the yo form of ayudar in the present perfect?
- (a) ha ayudado
- (b) has ayudado
- (c) he ayudado
- (d) hemos ayudado
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of ayudar?
- (a) ayude
- (b) ayudemos
- (c) ayudes
8. What is the nosotros form of ayudar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) ayudara
- (b) ayudáramos
- (c) ayudaras
9. What is the gerund of ayudar?
- (a) ayudado
- (b) ayudando
- (c) ayudar
- (d) ayudo
10. What is the past participle of ayudar?
- (a) ayudado
- (b) ayudando
- (c) ayudar
- (d) ayudé
Answer key
1. (d) ayudo — In the present, the yo form of ayudar is ayudo. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) ayudó — In the preterite, the el form of ayudar is ayudó. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (c) ayudábamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of ayudar is ayudábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) ayudarás — In the future, the tu form of ayudar is ayudarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) ayudarían — In the conditional, the ellos form of ayudar is ayudarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he ayudado — In the present perfect, the yo form of ayudar is he ayudado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) ayudes — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of ayudar is ayudes. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) ayudáramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of ayudar is ayudáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (b) ayudando — The gerund of ayudar is ayudando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy ayudando».
10. (a) ayudado — The past participle of ayudar is ayudado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he ayudado».
Frequently asked questions
Is ayudar regular or irregular?
Yes, ayudar is a regular -ar verb. Every tense follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can generate the whole table. The only thing to watch is choosing the right tense, not the forms themselves.
What are the gerund and past participle of ayudar?
The gerund is ayudando and the past participle is ayudado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy ayudando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he ayudado»).
What is the difference between ayudar and echar una mano?
Ayudar and echar una mano are often confused. Echar una mano is the idiomatic way to say "lend a hand"; ayudar is the plain verb.
How do I say «I help» in Spanish?
Say «Yo ayudo». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Which tense do learners find hardest with ayudar?
Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (ayudé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (ayudaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: ayudar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: ayudar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: necesitar
- Related verb: escuchar
- Related verb: enseñar
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz