Common mistakes
Assister à or aider? Attend the event, help the organiser
Learn assister à for attending and aider for helping. Compare three sentence patterns, practise a workshop scene and check the formal assistance sense.
- A2
- 3 corrections
- Examples and fixes
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In short
Assister à un événement means attending an event: J’assiste au concert. Aider quelqu’un means helping someone: J’aide l’organisatrice. Assister quelqu’un can also mean assisting someone, especially in a formal role; look for the person directly after the verb.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
- assister àto assist someoneto attend / witness
Nous assistons à une conférence.We are attending a talk.
For helping a person, use aider quelqu’un: Nous aidons la conférencière.
- aiderto attendto help
Tu peux m’aider à préparer la salle ?Can you help me prepare the room?
To say you attend the event, use assister à.
- assister quelqu’unto attend someoneto assist or support someone
Elle assiste la responsable dans son travail.She assists the manager in her work.
With a person as direct object, assister has an assistance meaning. In everyday offers, aider is the simple choice.
What is the difference between assister à and aider?
| Pattern | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| assister à + événement | Il assiste au spectacle. | He attends the show. |
| aider + personne + à + infinitif | Il aide Léa à ranger. | He helps Léa tidy up. |
| assister + personne + dans + nom | Il assiste Léa dans son travail. | He assists Léa in her work. |
The contraction still applies: à + le concert becomes au concert; à + les réunions becomes aux réunions. With aider, put the person directly after the verb: aider Léa. Add à before an action: aider Léa à préparer.
Before the workshop starts
Find:
- Léa
Tu assistes à l’atelier samedi ?
Are you attending the workshop on Saturday?
- Samir
Oui. Je peux aussi t’aider à préparer la salle.
Yes. I can also help you prepare the room.
- Léa
Merci ! Viens à neuf heures pour installer les chaises.
Thanks! Come at nine to set up the chairs.
- Samir
D’accord. Et l’atelier commence à quelle heure ?
All right. And what time does the workshop start?
- Léa
À dix heures.
At ten.
J’aide à préparer la salle, puis j’assiste à la conférence.
I help prepare the room, then I attend the talk.