¿Puedes ayudarme? vs. ¿Me Puedes ayudar?
Is there any difference between these two methods of asking? I think both of them mean (Can you help me?) but I'm wondering if there is any advanced grammtical issue or slight different in literal meaning between both of them.
Actually, my question is in gerenal about the difference -if any- between puting the pronoun in front of the verb and attaching it to the end of the verb. Other examples could be: Pongame vs. Me ponga (Give me) ....etc.
3 Answers
Yes, both are Correct! Great, well done! ![]()
I learnt Puedes ayudarme first before I had learnt much about direct and Indirect object pronouns except that you could add the direct object pronoun me onto the end of:
1 the infinitive forms of verbs eg ¿Podría traerme un café con leche, por favor? = Could you please bring me a coffee with milk?
2 the imperatives: eg íAyúdeme! = Help me!
3 the gerundio: dándome Sorry, I cannot think of an example for this
In my view Me puedes ayudar tells the Spanish native that you know a little bit more Spanish eg: how to use indirect object pronouns correctly, than using the more simple form: Puedes ayudarme since this latter construction can be found in Spanish phrase books for tourists.
I hope this helps ![]()
Both are perfect, the placement makes no difference.
Good job ![]()
In my experience, appending the pronoun to the infinitive is somewhat more common than not and appending it to the imperative is almost universal. Constructions with the "gerundio" (present participle) are far less frequent so it's hard to make judgements based on exposure. However, as Feliz and Heidita have already pointed out, either way is entirely acceptable.