Learn Dutch: Ik vraag de collega's om mee te helpen. - I am asking the colleagues to help out.

Meehelpen (to help out) is a separable verb made of the prefix mee and the base verb helpen. In an om ... te clause, the word te must go directly in front of the base verb. For separable verbs, te gets sandwiched between the prefix and the verb, and they are written as three separate words: mee te helpen.

Why do we use om ... te in this sentence?

The verb vragen (to ask) forms a fixed combination with om when asking for something. Because you are asking someone to perform an action, it requires the full om ... te structure. This translates the English "to" in "asking someone to do something".

Why does collega's have an apostrophe?

In Dutch, nouns that end in a single open vowel (like -a, -o, -u, -i, or -y) form their plural with an apostrophe plus s ('s). This keeps the vowel sounding long. If it were written together as collegas, the final a would incorrectly sound like a short vowel.

What is the difference between helpen and meehelpen?