Learn Italian: Ti serve aiuto?

Ti serve aiuto?

Do you need help?

Breakdown of Ti serve aiuto?

l'aiuto

the help (m)

servire

to be needed (mi serve = I need)

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Questions & Answers about Ti serve aiuto?

Why does this start with ti instead of tu?

This sentence works exactly like mi piace! Instead of saying "You need help", Italians phrase it as "Help is necessary to you." The word ti means "to you," and the verb serve is triggered by the actual subject of the sentence, which is aiuto (help).

What is the literal translation of this sentence?

It translates literally to "Does help serve you?" or "Is help useful to you?" The verb serve comes from servire, which Italians use in this backward-seeming way to express needing something.

If aiuto is the subject, why is it at the end of the sentence?

With verbs like servire and piacere, the subject (the thing that is needed or liked) usually goes after the verb. It sounds much more natural in Italian to say Ti serve aiuto? rather than Aiuto ti serve?.

How would I change this to say "I need help" or "we need help"?

You just change the little pronoun at the beginning, exactly as you would with piacere. "I need help" is Mi serve aiuto (help is necessary to me), and "we need help" is Ci serve aiuto (help is necessary to us).