Breakdown of Мне надо попросить кого-нибудь помочь.
мне
to me
помочь
to help (perfective)
надо
must, need to
кто-нибудь
anyone / someone (unspecified)
попросить
to ask (to request)
Questions & Answers about Мне надо попросить кого-нибудь помочь.
Why is it кого-нибудь and not кто-нибудь?
кого-нибудь is the accusative form of the indefinite pronoun кто-нибудь (someone/anyone). You are asking someone, so that person is the direct object of the verb попросить (to ask), which requires the accusative case. For animate objects (people), the accusative form looks exactly the same as the genitive.
Could I use кого-то instead of кого-нибудь in this sentence?
Yes, but it changes the feel slightly. Words with -нибудь are used when you mean "anyone at all" (it doesn't matter who). Words with -то refer to a specific "someone" whose identity is just unknown or unstated. Since you just need any person to help you, кого-нибудь sounds very natural here.
Why use попросить? Doesn't спросить also mean "to ask"?
They both mean "to ask", but they are used in different situations. спросить means "to ask a question" to get information. попросить means "to request" or "to ask someone to do a favor". Because you are requesting help rather than asking a question, you must use попросить.
Why does the sentence start with Мне instead of Я?
The word надо translates to "need" or "necessary". In Russian, words describing a state or necessity require the person experiencing it to be in the dative case. You literally say "To me it is necessary", which is Мне надо.
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