Breakdown of El dependiente me ayuda.
ayudar
to help
me
to me / myself (reflexive) / me (direct object)
el dependiente
the shop assistant
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Questions & Answers about El dependiente me ayuda.
'Dependiente' looks like the English word 'dependent'. Does it have the same meaning here?
Why is me placed before ayuda instead of after it?
In Spanish, object pronouns like me almost always go immediately before the conjugated verb. So instead of following the English word order and saying 'ayuda me' (helps me), you must say me ayuda.
I have seen ayuda used to mean 'help' as a noun. How do I know it is a verb here?
You can tell by the structure of the sentence. Here, el dependiente (the shop assistant) is the subject doing the action, so ayuda must be the conjugated verb from ayudar (to help). If it were the noun, it would usually have a feminine article in front of it, like la ayuda (the help).