Infinitive (imperfective): помога́ть — "to help (as a process / habitually / be helping)" Infinitive (perfective): помо́чь — "to help (once, with a result)" Type: a regular aspect pair, but the perfective belongs to the -чь group, where a hidden г surfaces and then mutates to ж across the conjugation
помога́ть / помо́чь is one of the verbs you reach for constantly — "help me carry this," "could you help me out," "the medicine helped." Two things make it worth a dedicated page. First, it does not take a direct object: you help to someone, governing the dative case, exactly like its relatives in the dative-government family. Second, the perfective помо́чь hides a consonant that English speakers never expect: the root is помог-, so the conjugation runs помогу́, помо́жешь, помо́гут — with г alternating with ж in a pattern you must learn as a block. Stress is marked on every form, because it shifts between the imperfective and the perfective.
Present tense (помога́ть, imperfective)
A perfective verb has no present tense, so only помога́ть has a present. It is a textbook first-conjugation verb built on the stem помога́-, end-stressed throughout, with no consonant tricks at all.
| Person | помога́ть — PRESENT |
|---|---|
| я | помога́ю |
| ты | помога́ешь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | помога́ет |
| мы | помога́ем |
| вы | помога́ете |
| они́ | помога́ют |
This is the easy half of the pair: помога́ю, помога́ешь… are completely regular, like чита́ть or де́лать. All the difficulty is concentrated in the perfective.
Я всегда́ помога́ю ма́ме по хозя́йству.
I always help my mum around the house. — помога́ю + dative ма́ме; a habit, so imperfective.
Ты помога́ешь сосе́ду с ремо́нтом?
Are you helping the neighbour with the repairs? — помога́ешь + dative сосе́ду; ongoing process.
Они́ помога́ют бе́женцам найти́ жильё.
They help refugees find housing. — помога́ют + dative + infinitive 'help to find'.
Past tense
The two members part ways completely here. помога́ть builds a tidy regular past on помога́-. помо́чь, like every -чь verb, drops the -чь and exposes the root помог-, then adds the gender endings — and the masculine has a bare consonant ending with no -л: помо́г, not помо́гл. Watch the stress shift: feminine and neuter and plural are *end-stressed (помогла́, помогло́, помогли́), while the masculine помо́г is stem-stressed.
| Gender / number | помога́ть (impf) | помо́чь (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | помога́л | помо́г |
| feminine | помога́ла | помогла́ |
| neuter | помога́ло | помогло́ |
| plural | помога́ли | помогли́ |
The помо́г without -л surprises learners, but it is the rule for verbs whose stem ends in a hard consonant (compare мог from мочь, берёг from бере́чь). The aspect contrast is the usual one: помога́л views the helping as a process or habit ("I used to help / I was helping"); помо́г views it as one completed act with a result ("I helped [and it worked]").
Сосе́д помо́г нам перенести́ дива́н на пя́тый эта́ж.
The neighbour helped us carry the sofa up to the fifth floor. — помо́г + dative нам; one completed act, perfective.
Она́ помогла́ мне с дома́шним зада́нием.
She helped me with my homework. — feminine помогла́ (end-stress) + dative мне.
Future tense
The pair forms its future the two standard ways, and the perfective future is where the г→ж mutation lives.
- помога́ть (imperfective) → compound future: бу́ду помога́ть "I'll be helping / will keep helping."
- помо́чь (perfective) → simple future: помогу́, помо́жешь… помо́гут, each meaning one completed future act.
| Person | помога́ть → бу́ду помога́ть | помо́чь → simple future (perfective) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду помога́ть | помогу́ |
| ты | бу́дешь помога́ть | помо́жешь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | бу́дет помога́ть | помо́жет |
| мы | бу́дем помога́ть | помо́жем |
| вы | бу́дете помога́ть | помо́жете |
| они́ | бу́дут помога́ть | помо́гут |
Look closely at the consonant: помогу́ and помо́гут keep the г (in the first-person singular and the third-person plural), but everything in between switches to ж — помо́жешь, помо́жет, помо́жем, помо́жете. This is the classic Russian velar mutation g↔ž, the same alternation you see in мочь → могу́ / мо́жешь. The stress also shifts off the ending after the first-person singular: помогу́ is end-stressed, but помо́жешь… помо́гут are stem-stressed. Learn the whole block by heart. The everyday "I'll help you" is the perfective помогу́ — one planned act; the mechanics live on the perfective simple future page.
Не волну́йся, я помогу́ тебе́ с перее́здом.
Don't worry, I'll help you with the move. — помогу́: one planned future act (perfective).
Э́то лека́рство тебе́ помо́жет.
This medicine will help you. — помо́жет (3rd person, ж-mutation) + dative тебе́.
Imperative
Regular and end-stressed for both stems.
| Addressee | помога́ть (impf) | помо́чь (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ты (informal) | помога́й | помоги́ |
| вы (formal / plural) | помога́йте | помоги́те |
Note that the perfective imperative помоги́ also restores the г (not ж): помоги́, помоги́те. The perfective Помоги́ мне! ("Help me!") asks for one specific act of help, and is by far the more common imperative in everyday requests. The imperfective помога́й is for ongoing or repeated help ("keep helping / always be ready to help").
Помоги́те, пожа́луйста, я не могу́ откры́ть дверь!
Please help, I can't open the door! — perfective помоги́те: one urgent, specific request.
Помога́й бра́ту, он ещё ма́ленький.
Help your brother, he's still little. — imperfective помога́й + dative бра́ту: ongoing help.
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | помога́ть (impf) | помо́чь (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| present active participle | помога́ющий "(the one) helping" | — (perfectives have none) |
| past active participle | помога́вший | помо́гший |
| verbal adverb | помога́я "while helping" | помо́гши "having helped" (rare) |
помо́чь is intransitive (it takes the dative, not an accusative object), so it forms no passive participle. The everyday useful form is the imperfective verbal adverb помога́я "while helping," which is common in both speech and writing. The perfective помо́гши is bookish and rare.
Помога́я други́м, ты помога́ешь и себе́.
By helping others, you also help yourself. — verbal adverb помога́я; note both clauses take the dative.
Key uses & collocations
1. помога́ть / помо́чь + dative — the person helped
The person you help is not a direct object — помога́ть governs the dative. You help to someone: помога́ть дру́гу (dative of друг), ма́ме, студе́нтам, мне, тебе́. This is the single most common error English speakers make, because English "help me" looks like a direct object.
Я с удово́льствием помогу́ ва́шей до́чери с матема́тикой.
I'll gladly help your daughter with maths. — до́чери is dative, not accusative.
2. помога́ть + dative + infinitive — "help (someone) to do"
To say "help someone do something," follow the dative person with an infinitive, usually imperfective: помо́чь дру́гу перее́хать ("help a friend move"), помога́ть ребёнку учи́ться.
Учи́тель помога́ет ученика́м поня́ть тру́дную те́му.
The teacher helps the students understand a difficult topic. — dative ученика́м + infinitive поня́ть.
3. помога́ть + с + instrumental — "help with (a task)"
To name the thing you help with, use с + instrumental: помо́чь с перее́здом ("help with the move"), с ремо́нтом, с уро́ками, с детьми́ ("with the kids").
Ты не помо́жешь мне с чемода́нами?
Could you help me with the suitcases? — dative мне + с + instrumental чемода́нами.
4. помога́ть (something) + dative — when the subject is not a person
A medicine, a method, or advice can be the subject: Лека́рство помога́ет ("The medicine helps / works"). Here the verb means "to be effective, to do good," still governing a dative beneficiary.
От ка́шля э́тот сиро́п хорошо́ помога́ет.
This syrup works well for a cough. — от + genitive names the ailment; помога́ет = 'is effective'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я помогу́ тебя́ с уро́ками.
Case error — помо́чь takes the DATIVE of the person, not the accusative: помогу́ тебе́, not тебя́.
✅ Я помогу́ тебе́ с уро́ками.
I'll help you with your homework.
❌ Он помо́гл нам вчера́.
Form error — the masculine perfective past has no -л: it's помо́г (bare consonant), like мог, берёг.
✅ Он помо́г нам вчера́.
He helped us yesterday.
❌ За́втра я бу́ду помо́чь тебе́.
Aspect error — the бу́ду future needs an IMPERFECTIVE infinitive. The perfective makes its own future: помогу́ (no бу́ду).
✅ За́втра я помогу́ тебе́.
Tomorrow I'll help you.
❌ Ты помо́гешь мне?
Conjugation error — the г mutates to ж before -ешь: помо́жешь. Only помогу́ and помо́гут keep the г.
✅ Ты помо́жешь мне?
Will you help me?
❌ Она́ помо́г сестре́.
Agreement error — the past agrees in gender: feminine помогла́ (end-stress), masculine помо́г. Match it to the subject.
✅ Она́ помогла́ сестре́.
She helped her sister.
Key Takeaways
- помога́ть / помо́чь is a regular aspect pair, but the perfective belongs to the -чь group: the root is помог-, and the g↔ž mutation runs through the conjugation.
- Present (помога́ть only): помога́ю / помога́ешь / помога́ет / помога́ем / помога́ете / помога́ют — fully regular, end-stressed.
- Past: помога́л vs помо́г — the masculine perfective is помо́г (no -л); feminine/neuter/plural are end-stressed (помогла́, помогло́, помогли́).
- Future: imperfective compound бу́ду помога́ть; perfective simple помогу́, помо́жешь, помо́жет… помо́гут — only помогу́ and помо́гут keep the г; the rest show ж.
- Imperative: помога́й / помоги́ (the perfective helps once, the imperfective keeps helping).
- Government: help a person with the dative (помога́ть дру́гу), add an infinitive for "help to do," and с + instrumental for "help with a task."
Now practice Russian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Russian→Related Topics
- Verbs Governing the DativeB1 — The closed set of high-frequency verbs that take a DATIVE object with no preposition, where English uses a plain direct object — a persistent error source. помога́ть (help), звони́ть (phone), ве́рить (believe/trust), сове́товать (advise), меша́ть (disturb), отвеча́ть (answer), удивля́ться (be surprised at), ра́доваться (be glad of), зави́довать (envy), угрожа́ть (threaten), подража́ть (imitate), принадлежа́ть (belong to), сле́довать (follow), разреша́ть/запреща́ть (allow/forbid). The unifying thread is loose — 'directing an action toward someone' — so they must be drilled with the dative until automatic, because English transitivity interference is strong.
- Dative: The Indirect ObjectA2 — The dative's core job is the indirect object — the recipient or beneficiary, answering кому? (to whom?). The frame is subject (nom) + verb + thing (acc) + recipient (dat): Я дал дру́гу кни́гу (I gave my friend a book), Она́ написа́ла письмо́ ма́ме. The trap for English speakers is a closed list of verbs that take the dative where English uses a plain direct object — помога́ть (help), звони́ть (phone), сове́товать (advise), ве́рить (believe), меша́ть (bother), ра́доваться (be glad about) — so 'I help my brother' is Я помога́ю бра́ту (dat), not *брата.
- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Aspect is the spine of the Russian verb: nearly every verb belongs to a pair — imperfective (process, repetition, general fact) and perfective (a single completed whole with a result). This page explains the pair, the consequences for the tense system (perfectives have no present), and why you must decide 'process or result?' before you even pick a tense.
- The Perfective (Simple) FutureA2 — The perfective future is a single word: you conjugate a perfective verb with the ordinary present-tense endings (-у/-ю, -ешь/-ишь…) and the result means the FUTURE — прочита́ю 'I'll read (and finish),' напишу́ 'I'll write,' куплю́ 'I'll buy,' позвоню́ 'I'll call.' The trap is that these forms look exactly like a present tense, but a perfective verb has no present, so a conjugated perfective is always future. It names a single completed action with a result, a promise, or one step in a sequence.
- Звонить / Позвонить (to call/phone)A2 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the aspect pair звони́ть / позвони́ть 'to call, to phone (someone)'. A regular second-conjugation verb that governs the DATIVE (звони́ть дру́гу 'call a friend'), and the home of Russia's most famous stress shibboleth: the prescriptive norm is end-stressed звони́т, звони́шь — never the widespread but substandard *зво́нит.
- Present Tense: Second ConjugationA1 — The second-conjugation present paradigm: говори́ть → говорю́, говори́шь, говори́т, говори́м, говори́те, говоря́т, with theme vowel -и-. Covers the Л-insertion model люби́ть → люблю́, the 1sg consonant mutation, and the spelling rule that gives слы́шу/слы́шат and учу́/у́чат after hushing consonants.