How to Ask for Help in English
screaming up now all right up now I
think we are on the Internet hello
Internet hello
this week’s Internet well there are
people in the chat room hi YouTube chat
I see you how are you today oh wait
like these people now hmm maybe I’ll
give it a second
hi Internet we are live good morning
good afternoon good evening good night
depending on where you are in the world
all right we are going to start very
soon so we’ll wait for people to join hi
Christian from Mexico welcome hello we
this Facebook going yet YouTube is on
YouTube is live hi Brazil the people
from Brazil are joining again show hello
Elka hello Vietnam nuyen hello and Rika
Matt dance Henrique hello Facebook are
you up yet maybe maybe it’s coming hi
Marcelo hi Caroline hi you sauce from
California YouTube hi YouTube we’re
waiting for Facebook right now we’re
getting Facebook up oh I think Facebook
is going maybe
maybe do you have facebook uh yes
Facebook is slide yaqoob hello Chindi
hello okay Facebook is live YouTube
Vince live welcome to this week’s live
stream my name is Alicia if you didn’t
know already but thank you very much for
joining us today we’re waiting a few
minutes for everybody to join us and
then we’ll start this week’s topic which
is asking for help so while we wait for
other people to join us hello Vietnam
type Yoshi from Japan hi from Egypt
Mexico Jerry from China Muhammad hello
Eduardo from Guatemala while we wait and
while we say hello to each other
last week’s topic was giving advice and
I couldn’t get in touch I couldn’t read
everybody’s comments as the stream went
on last week but I read them after this
stream and there was a really good
advice sentence someone Miriam Mohammed
I don’t know maybe she’s watching today
she said if you go to Egypt do you have
to visit the pyramids that was awesome
that was really good
hello Austria good people are joining
now from Syria sorry I can’t read your
name but hi on Facebook I see you
Ricardo from Brazil hi let’s see
but yeah as more people join I thought
I’d share I actually a one of the advice
patterns we talked about last week so
like I posted a picture on my Instagram
about like a new series we’re doing and
then I posted about this livestream
today so I put up a picture and in the
comment on the picture it says come
check it out so there deserves I’m sorry
the size aside so I used like this is
the this is what we use this is what we
talked about last week this is what we
talked about last week this uh command
form I used to come check it out the
command form for advice or for
like a recommendation so I used this
last week did you use advice at all last
week I don’t know if you did but yeah so
that was last week’s topic hello
everybody joining we’re just recapping
last week’s information but let’s see
who is here now we have a lot of people
here now again from Brazil hi Brazil
Sergio from Brazil allene good night
from Brazil are you leaving remember a
good night is used when you leave to
remind people on Facebook
Nazim from Sweden hello German hello I’m
good I’m good I’m doing great today
Jakob says no I did not use advice are
you sure are you sure it’s really easy
to from Venezuela Milton and Nestor
hello let’s see you let’s see Sam I am
streaming on YouTube we have it on
Facebook and on YouTube let’s see here
Oh from Japan hi let’s see
Leigh from Brazil hi from Somali on
YouTube hello yeah Sam so his name’s Sam
he’s on Facebook the question was why
are you not streaming on YouTube this is
live on Facebook and on YouTube at the
same time so if you’re watching on
Facebook you can also watch on YouTube
at youtube.com slash user slash English
class 101 slash live or if you’re
watching on YouTube and you want to
check the Facebook page there’s a link
in the description at the YouTube
description box so you can check both of
those okay
yeah so I was talking about last week’s
last week’s advice topic last week’s
advice topic so I mentioned I shared
like a post on Instagram with my like my
like command forum example sentence come
check it out so yeah
hashtag new things exciting things all
kinds of new things so Kazakhstan hello
um let’s see from Vietnam nyan are you
Alicia or Alicia I am Alicia al I sha is
how you spell my name okay but let’s see
we are about five or six minutes into
this week’s broadcast so hello to
everyone joining us hi let’s see Hamada
from Morocco very cool uh let’s see
we’re gonna start today’s topic so
today’s topic is how to ask for help
actually we filmed last week we filmed a
new episode of top words that’s going to
be about asking for help so hopefully we
can this will be kind of a warm-up for
that it’ll be out soon alright so I want
to talk first about just kind of some
casual ways to ask for help and yes just
to remind you I am speaking slowly I’m
speaking slower than I speak in our
videos because there’s a there are a lot
of people watching around the world with
different levels of English so hopefully
so hopefully everybody can understand a
little bit better at this speed anyway
we’re gonna start with casual ways to
ask for help so the first pattern I want
to talk about is really simple like can
you or could you to begin a request so
if for example you’re visiting a new
city or maybe you’re watching this live
stream for example and you have a
request like for me even you could say
can you blah blah blah so for example in
a city you could say can you
you tell me where the station is or
maybe you have a question on this live
stream you can say can you tell me what
blah blah blah means so you can use this
actually right away today if you want
okay so this is this is the maybe the
simplest introduction yeah so someone
else has already used this way to ask
for help which I’m going to talk about
so I’m sorry I can’t read your name but
you said could you give me a hand could
you give me a hand is like can you help
me with something so could you give me a
hand with my homework hmm
actually we had a question last week
someone asked is it help me do homework
or is it help me to do homework it
should be help me do homework like you
could use this pattern No - could you
give me a hand with my homework oh it’s
gone now but there’s something else here
so yeah oh here’s another one from
Carlos could you indicate an app to
practice English with natives and app to
do that I’m not sure if there’s
specifically an app to do that but I
mean you’d have to I would just
recommend trying to connect with people
like in your community or just trying to
use the internet to make friends I’m not
sure if there’s a specific app for it
but yeah let’s see oh great so Tiago
from Sur has used it can you tell me
where you’re from make sure can you tell
me where you are from yes I’m American
I’m American I was born in California
Miriam I mentioned your example sentence
from last week you said can you do more
of these live videos we’re only doing
one a week right now we just started but
she just used that example so the more
kind of formal example could you do more
live videos so that’s perfect nice
another person can you help me about
future actions ah future tense
yes
actually just yesterday I mentioned that
like the thing I showed an Instagram in
this picture I share in that session
yesterday I made a video about yeah so
yesterday I took this picture for this
new series we’re doing and I was making
a video we’re making a video about
future tents so soon that will be out so
you can practice some very simple future
tense with will and going to we made
that we made that yesterday so that will
be out soon
so yes Christian we can talk about
future actions and we’re gonna do I hope
some live broadcasts featuring future
tentative can I do live videos and other
innovative language channels I don’t
know I don’t I think this one is
probably okay but you never know can i
phone you tomorrow that’s a good one to
use at work can you phone me tomorrow
nice one you nest that was good great
Facebook hello people are just joining
us over there from Ecuador but now in
New York Pamela great all right nice
lots of people from Brazil again
fantastic that’s great okay so we talked
about can you and could you um another
good way you can use can you in everyday
life
I use this a lot is can you hold this
for me so like if I have a bottle of
water but I need to do something else
I’ll say can you hold this for me I have
to do something so that’s a really easy
way a small way everyday way to ask for
help Diana can you tell me if you speak
Spanish very little very little okay
let’s see
Enrique says can you help me with this
new technology language I don’t know
depends on the language is it at I don’t
know it depends on the new language the
technology language alright so we’ve got
some some good example sentences nice
work you guys
those are great lots of people from
Brazil still too okay so we’ve practiced
can you and could you and then I think
every week as we did last week and the
week before we’ve got like some kind of
special thing to introduce during the
broadcast so this week we have there’s a
there’s a guy there’s like PDF guides I
talked a little bit about it last week
but there’s PDF guides that they have
available on the website in English
class 101.com so they’re talking about
kind of everyday vocabulary that you can
use so maybe at work at school when
you’re at home in the kitchen or maybe
they they’re also kind of gonna help you
if you are kind of running out of
reasons we just study a language so
maybe it’ll help you with your
motivation too so these are things you
can print out and take with you if you
want but they’re just sort of an extra
way to help you study I think so
some extra boosts in your vocabulary
little boosts and in opportunities to
study your language too so if you’re
interested definitely check that out
there PDFs so you can download them and
save them on your smartphone or take
them with you on your computer print
them out whatever so that’s our special
introductory thing for this week
definitely check it out I think it’s I
think it’s definitely something worth
checking out yeah there’s tons of stuff
I think the crew is showing you right
now
yeah so that’s an English class of
101.com check it out there the link is
in the description all right so let’s
get back to this week’s topic asking for
help so we talked about can you and
could you already
oh we have more people joining - hi from
Malaysia Mohammed can you give us your
Instagram username use your Google
skills it’s not hard okay let’s see
not taya on Facebook says could you put
the link please the link is on Facebook
I believe the link is on the Facebook
page to English class 101.com I believe
it the link is there on the page so
please check that on Facebook it’s it’s
a it’s above I think Facebook is above
the video perhaps and then YouTube the
link is below the video yes I see it now
so on Facebook yeah there’s a link right
above this box where you’re watching
this video on the page so please check
that okay great so let’s talk a little
bit more about giving I’m sorry asking
for advice my mouse is not working okay
great
so I want to mention something someone
said earlier someone said can you give
me a hand with wah wah wah I forget can
you give me a hand with something if
you’re moving something heavy like your
sofa or a desk that’s a really good
phrase to use so could you give me a
hand with this sofa could you give me a
hand with my desk something like that
this is a really good expression to use
for physical objects could you give me a
hand with something your item here okay
someone says could you tell me how tall
you are
I’m 162 centimeters tall it’s about 5
foot to 5 ok so ah
Eduardo says how can I order a beer when
I arrive at the bar um let’s see maybe
that’s that’s a topic for a different
discussion but you have to go and ask
for a pint or a half pint so you could
say could you give me well knock don’t
is hand with at the bar when you want to
ask a bartender for help good so don’t
use this one
I think the crew is changing the sample
sentence here now when you go to a bar
or when you want to order something at a
restaurant could you give me yeah this
one right here could you give me a pint
could you give me a glass of wine could
you give me a steak could you give me a
salad could you give me a delicious
thing so you can use this pattern in a
lot of different situations not just
asking for like emergency help but this
is like a request as well could you give
me bah-bah-bah at a restaurant bar or
service situation yeah great
someone husana says can you help me to
learn English because I live in the USA
but I can’t speak with people I think
you have to just practice as much as
possibly when you move it’s going to be
difficult to speak with people but you
just have to keep practicing and find
people to practice with who understand
who you are and where you’re coming from
as well alright so yeah so we have
another we have another good example
could you give me this is a good request
pattern as well
Alberto asks is it only for things so
could you give me ah you mean material
things we we can also use this for time
for example could you give me a moment
of your time could you give me a second
we can use it for time as well but
you’re making a request you’re asking
for someone’s help in that moment so yes
you can use it for time as well Oh
garrison says what if I say I don’t want
to bother you but can you help me with
an information is it too formal it
sounds it’s it’s very polite but I to
make that more natural if you need help
with some information it’s like I would
say excuse me sorry to bother you but
can you help me with this or can you
help me understand this or I would ask a
specific point I have a specific
question prepared to ask them about yeah
all right
Francois hello all right Jacob asks
could you give me a dozen donuts at the
moment no at the moment no perhaps in
the future please check back ah let’s
see
5b Faithie says I always feel shy when I
try to speak English
could you give me some advice I think
that feeling that shy feeling it doesn’t
really go away like I feel shy when I
speak another language - I think you
have to accept you’re going to feel shy
and pretend that you don’t and keep
practicing I like I still feel shy I
feel shy sometimes doing this so it’s
all about pretending maybe you’ve heard
the expression fake it till you make it
so pretend until you can do it let’s see
ah joy asks can I say
do you have time on you when I want to
ask what time it is not quite it’s not
quite that question it’s do you have
that time
that’s the question do you have the time
mm-hmm okay
oh why Lear says could you give me an
opportunity that’s a good one so maybe
could you give me an opportunity - bah
bah bah Thiago says can I say could you
give me your hand or your daughter’s
hand if you’re asking someone to marry
you and it’s kind of more formal and a
little bit more old-fashioned yes like
but in that case I think traditionally
the expression is may I have your
daughter’s hand in marriage yeah okay
hello Marcos on Facebook yes Alex let’s
study I see you okay someone says I
understand you well but I can’t speak
what do I have to do like I’ve said
before it’s just a matter of practicing
you just have to force yourself to speak
if you don’t use it you lose it you know
ah nut says could you give me a glass of
wine yes yes that is an excellent
sentence actually I think that was in my
notes somewhere maybe maybe not maybe
not could you give me a glass of wine is
a perfect a perfect sentence a perfect
way to ask someone for help especially
at a bar great okay
could you give me some advice to start
learning English well this is a nice
start doing listening practice and like
finding other ways to study you can use
all you can use we talked about before I
like the PDF we talked about before that
might be another way to help you get
started and help you stay motivated you
can check the link above this video on
Facebook or below this video on YouTube
to find those PDFs maybe those can be
helpful if you’re just getting started
yeah if you’re just getting started
maybe you can check out those PDFs so
they’re kind of little like Boost
materials so getting back to school is
one topic the business one is pretty
good for words in the office personally
I like food so the dining one the the
one for eating at restaurants and cafes
is I think really useful because that’s
a really common thing to do
so check does that if you’re just
getting started that might be a really
good resource to help get you used to a
few a few words here and there okay
ah let’s see hello group Uruguay
let’s see what else do we have
Walid says could you tell me what time
it is please well that depends on your
country right now it is 1122 am here
yes practice makes perfect is Omri
indeed our practice makes progression I
think
practice makes progression Anderson says
could you give me some money
nice one be careful be careful where you
use that question so that’s a that’s a
perfect sentence very nice very nice
okay Joe asks I’m confused do you have
any experiences or do you have
experience oh that’s a good question
both can be correct depending on the
situation for example like do you have a
lot of work experience is correct as a
noun phrase work experience but you can
also ask have you had any experiences in
other countries talking about individual
situations so it depends on the
situation with that question okay
someone on Facebook asked sorry I was
starting on a new question someone on
Facebook asked if my English is a
British English or American English it
is American English I was born in
California I speak west coast with an a
West Coast American accent okay great uh
let’s see hola habla espanol Jose I
don’t speak very much Spanish but okay
Ryan asks how can I learn words nobody
uses like Abyss you really have to just
find those words and look them up when
you see them so like there’s a famous
movie called the abyss that’s that’s one
way to pick up words like watching
movies or watching kind of subculture
topics too
all right hello Stanley from Haiti thank
you for joining good night Andre from
Brazil uh let’s see let’s go to oh I
have a couple more example sentences we
only have a few minutes left so let me
see I have a couple more example
sentences just a second so for general
help questions like at your office with
your friends with your family members
whatever you could do I need help and
then some kind of activity or some
action so for example I need help
cooking dinner or I need help cleaning
the house I need help studying for this
exam
I think the crew is going to make it so
we can see yeah so I need help studying
English I need help getting to the beach
I need help
I don’t know doing something so your
help phrase goes right here at the end
of this sentence so this is a really
good general health advice like I need
help reading the menu if if you’re
reading a menu in a different language
okay ah Bernardo has a nice question on
YouTube could you explain when I have to
use I couldn’t help but yes it has a
different meaning so the word help is
there but this is not a request for help
so the phrase I couldn’t help but while
blah blah usually it’s used in an
expression like I couldn’t help but
notice you got a new haircut so I
couldn’t help but means like it’s
impossible not to or for me like I
couldn’t help but is like like I didn’t
want to notice or maybe it wasn’t on
purpose but this is so outstanding or
this this stood out so much to me I
noticed it was impossible for me not to
notice I couldn’t help
but notice you have a new haircut or you
bought a new car something that it’s
used to express something that’s very
obvious to the speaker something like a
new surprising change usually okay great
um what else what else what else
Oh new people are joining on Facebook
hello Pranjal from India it’s seven
something seven twenty six in the
morning Wow thank you for watching it’s
so early
alright um let’s see maybe we’ll talk
about one more way to ask for help this
one a lot of my students use a strange
pattern with this one so when you want
someone to explain something to you
sometimes my students say can you please
teach me blah blah blah can you please
teach me something something something
so like for example I don’t know how to
turn on a computer instead of please
teach me use the phrase can you show me
or how do i blah blah blah how do I turn
on this car how do I get from Tokyo to
London how do I make a pizza how do I
use YouTube chat how do I find you on
social media how do I all these
questions these are really here this so
this pattern how do i blah blah blah
this is good
how do I use the word abyss for example
so this is a really good way to ask
someone to teach you a process how do I
do something yeah hot tea says how can I
learn a word or how do I learn
vocabulary nice how do I learn
vocabulary study then practice a lot
yeah okay ooh if Jahan station sorry if
I mispronounced your name ask what’s the
difference between to be on a diet and
to go on a diet
to be on a diet means now you are
dieting you are in the diet now you are
eating healthy and exercising maybe to
go on a diet is usually used in the
future tense like I’m going to go on a
diet that means maybe not now but soon
or in the future so to be on a diet is
now to go on a diet probably the future
all right
Angelica says how do I get an answer
from you that’s a nice one so how do I
plus your phrase your question phrase
how do I get an answer from you
great nice one Christian says how do I
study for my exam perfect nice one also
good
also good ah let’s see what else do I
have an English class in Michigan Sandra
asks no I do not I do not ok let’s see
we have lots of people joining on
Facebook and YouTube still ah but we
only have 30 seconds oh my gosh that was
so fast this week ok I have to finish up
Wow someone the person who ran into me
ah I remember you uh the person who ran
into me at Dublin Airport last month hi
thanks very much for watching you
surprised me on that day nice to see you
again
Wow great great ok um let’s see so I
have to finish up sorry crew I click the
mouse I have to finish up today’s
broadcast but next week we’re going to
do another broadcast at the same time so
10 p.m. Eastern Time
this the topic or the key question for
next week is going to be what did you do
last weekend so next week’s topic we’re
going to focus on using the past tense
so past tense to explain your weekend so
if you do something interesting this
weekend please remember it so you can
talk about it in the chat on Facebook or
on YouTube next time so we’ll talk about
this next week it’s 10:00 p.m. Eastern
Time on Wednesdays Wednesday nights
10:00 p.m. Eastern Time so you can
adjust your timezone accordingly as
needed
okay so thanks very much for watching
again this week guys it was great to see
your example sentences that was great
even after the live broadcast you can
leave comments and questions and maybe
we can review them again in next week’s
lesson too so thanks very much please
make sure to check out the the PDFs we
talked about those might be really
useful so on Facebook check the link
above the video on YouTube check the
link below the video and take a look at
that for some more good stuff there all
right I will see you guys again next
week thanks again so much for joining
and have a nice week and a nice weekend
bye bye
you