'a ayudar' vs 'para ayudar'

[wafflestomp]

Little confused with this. Is "Hace mucho a ayudar" the same meaning as "Hace mucho para ayudar"? I've been tripping myself up trying to distinguish between these two and it's been getting stressful, lol. If they have the same meaning, is one more appropriate over the other in certain times?

[Rusty]

A little more context would be nice.

He does ...
She does ...
You do ...
It does ...
... a lot to help.

Hace mucho para ayudar.

[wafflestomp]

Sorry my questions are usually pretty bad with context, lol.

The sentence you wrote, could you have said "a ayudar"? My question basically is, are both interchangeable? When are some situations you could use simply the infinitive without neither "a" nor "para"?

[Rusty]

I would not use 'a ayudar' to say the sentence I assumed you were writing and no, the two prepositions are not interchangeable.

Whether or not a preposition is required depends on what you're trying to say.

In English, we have bare infinitives (go, eat) and full infinitives (to go, to eat). The same concept can be seen in Spanish, but the Spanish infinitive isn't labeled 'bare' or 'full'. Some verbs are always followed by a preposition when an infinitive follows. Some are not. (Some verbs are always followed by a preposition when an object follows. Some are not.) When a preposition follows a verb, it may, or may not, match the preposition used in English. And, just because a preposition follows a verb in English doesn't mean that one follows it in Spanish.

Here is a site that gives a good list of which verbs are followed by a preposition before an infinitive, and which verbs are not. It also shows which verbs are followed by a preposition before an object, and which verbs are not.

The sentence you wrote, by the way, follows a different pattern. What you were trying to convey could only be stated by using the preposition 'para'.

[Don José]

"Hace mucho a ayudar"

This doesn't make sense in Spanish.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I agree with Don José; for a sentence like "he does a lot to help", "a ayudar" does not make sense.


Sentences with "para ayudar":

·Juan siempre hace muchas cosas para ayudar a los demás.
Juan always does many things to help others.

·Estamos aquí para ayudar a nuestros amigos.
We're here to help our friends.

·Explícame para ayudarme a comprender.
Explain to me so you'll help me understand.

·Dame la mano para ayudarte a subir.
Give me your hand to help you climb up.



Some sentences where both prepositions would be acceptable:

·El policía se detuvo para/a ayudar al herido.
The policeman stopped to help the wounded person.

·Venimos a/para ayudar en lo que podamos.
We're here to help in anything we can.

·Nunca se ofrece para/a ayudar con la limpieza.
He never offers help for cleaning.

·María siempre está dispuesta a/para ayudar a otros.
Maria is always ready to help others.



Some sentences where only "a ayudar" would be acceptable:

·Tu donativo nos ayuda a ayudar a otros.
Your contribution help us help others.

·Me obligaron a ayudar en las tareas de la casa.
I was forced to help with the chores at home.

·Mis hijos fueron a ayudar al vecino a pintar su casa.
My children went to help the neighbour paint his house.

[JPablo]

Te iba a ayudar, pero veo que Angélica, Rusty, Don José y los demás, ya lo hicieron.