Ayudamos al animal a parir.

Because Spanish uses the personal a before a specific direct object when it refers to a person, and often also with animals when they are seen as individual, concrete beings.

• Ayudamos al animal = We help the animal
• al = a + el

So here:

• a = the personal a
• el animal = the animal
• together: al animal

You would not say Ayudamos el animal in standard Spanish here.

Because in Spanish, a + el always contracts to al.

So:

• a el animal → al animal

This is a fixed rule.
The only common exception is when el is part of a proper name, for example:

• a El Escorial

But with an ordinary noun like animal, you must use al.

Ayudamos can be either:

• present tense: we help
• preterite: we helped

The form is the same for nosotros/nosotras in -ar verbs.

So without more context, Ayudamos al animal a parir could mean either:

• We help the animal give birth
• We helped the animal give birth

Usually the surrounding context tells you which one is meant.

That a is not the personal a. It is part of the pattern:

• ayudar a alguien a hacer algo
  = to help someone do something

So:

• Ayudamos al animal = We help the animal
• a parir = to give birth

Together:

• Ayudamos al animal a parir
  = We help the animal give birth

So the sentence has two different a’s:

1. al animal → personal a
2. a parir → a introducing the infinitive after ayudar

Because after ayudar a alguien a..., Spanish normally uses an infinitive for the action being helped.

Pattern:

• ayudar a alguien a + infinitive

Examples:

• Ayudo a mi hermana a estudiar. = I help my sister study.
• Ayudamos al niño a vestirse. = We help the child get dressed.
• Ayudamos al animal a parir. = We help the animal give birth.

So parir stays in the infinitive because it means to give birth as the action being helped.

Parir means to give birth, especially in a biological or medical sense. It is commonly used for animals, and also for humans, though with humans it can sound more clinical, direct, or physical than some alternatives.

For animals, parir is very natural:

• La vaca va a parir. = The cow is going to give birth.

For people, Spanish also often uses:

• dar a luz = to give birth

So in this sentence, since it is animal, parir is very appropriate.

Grammatically yes, but a parir is more natural for an animal.

• parir is very common with animals
• dar a luz is common for humans, and can sometimes be used more generally

So:

• Ayudamos al animal a parir sounds very natural.
• Ayudamos al animal a dar a luz is understandable, but less typical.

It could be, depending on context.

• Ayudamos al animal a parir explicitly names the animal.
• Le ayudamos a parir means We help it give birth, using le instead of repeating al animal.

A useful point: with ayudar, Spanish usage varies, and object pronouns can differ by region or structure. In practice, learners will often see both noun phrases and pronouns used.

Here, the full noun phrase al animal is clearer for a learner because it shows the structure plainly.

No. El animal is grammatically masculine as a noun, regardless of the animal’s actual sex.

That is why the sentence says:

• al animal

Even though the animal is the one giving birth and therefore biologically female, the noun animal still takes masculine grammar by default:

• el animal
• un animal

If you wanted to make the sex explicit, you might use a more specific noun such as:

• la vaca = the cow
• la perra = the female dog
• la gata = the female cat

Yes. This sentence is a good example of that.

Spanish commonly uses:

• ayudar a alguien a hacer algo

which corresponds to:

• help someone do something

Examples:

• Ayudo a mi hijo a leer. = I help my son read.
• Ayudamos al paciente a caminar. = We help the patient walk.
• Ayudamos al animal a parir. = We help the animal give birth.

So the structure is very common and useful.

In standard Spanish, no. You need the a before the infinitive with this structure.

Correct:

• Ayudamos al animal a parir

Not standard:

• Ayudamos al animal parir

So remember the full pattern:

• ayudar a alguien a + infinitive

You usually know from context, time words, or the surrounding sentences.

For example:

• Cada primavera ayudamos al animal a parir.
  = Every spring we help the animal give birth.
  → probably present/habitual

• Ayer ayudamos al animal a parir.
  = Yesterday we helped the animal give birth.
  → clearly preterite

So ayudamos by itself is ambiguous, but context normally makes it clear.

Yes. It is grammatical and natural, especially in a veterinary, farming, or animal-care context.

It sounds like something you might say when assisting an animal during birth, for example:

• on a farm
• in a veterinary setting
• during animal rescue or care

So it is a good example of a real Spanish structure, even if the topic is somewhat specific.