When to use it
Use it at an Indian airport to ask staff to help you find your boarding gate.
The sentence in English (“Can you help me find my gate?”)
In “Can you help me find my gate?” ‘help’ is followed by the person, ‘me’, and then a second verb, ‘find’, in its base form without ‘to’. ‘my’ never changes.
- Can
- auxiliary verbcan · tense: present · modal verb of ability or permission; it opens the question
- you
- pronounpersonal pronoun
- help
- verbhelp · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · main verb after "can"
- me
- pronounobject pronoun
- find
- verbfind · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · main verb after a modal or after "help me"
- my
- determinerpossessive determiner
- gate
- nounnoun; the boarding gate at an airport
The sentence in Hindi (“क्या आप मेरा गेट ढूँढ़ने में मेरी मदद कर सकते हैं?”)
In “क्या आप मेरा गेट ढूँढ़ने में मेरी मदद कर सकते हैं?” the task comes first, ‘मेरा गेट ढूँढ़ने में’ (in finding my gate): the infinitive ढूँढ़ना becomes ‘ढूँढ़ने’ before the postposition ‘में’. Then comes ‘मेरी मदद कर सकते हैं’ (can do my help). ‘मेरा’ is masculine for ‘गेट’ and ‘मेरी’ feminine for ‘मदद’ (help).
- क्या
- particleyes/no question particle
- आप
- pronounrespectful pronoun 'you', used with strangers
- मेरा
- pronounpossessive 'my', masculine to match गेट
- गेट
- nounmasculine noun 'gate' (airport)
- ढूँढ़ने
- verbढूँढ़ना · form: oblique infinitive · ढूँढ़ने में = 'in finding'; the infinitive takes the oblique before a postposition
- में
- prepositionpostposition में: help 'in' a task
- मेरी
- pronounpossessive 'my', feminine to match मदद
- मदद
- nounfeminine noun 'help'; मदद करना = 'to help'
- कर
- verbकरना · form: stem · stem of करना, before सकना
- सकते
- auxiliary verbसकना · gender: masculine · number: plural (respect) · respectful plural for आप
- हैं
- auxiliary verbहोना · tense: present · number: plural · हैं with आप
What changes from one language to the other (English × Hindi)
English chains ‘help me find’; Hindi says ‘in finding my gate, my help can you do?’, putting the task before the help. The English possessive ‘my’ is fixed, while Hindi ‘मेरा/मेरी’ agrees with the noun it goes with.
Example conversation
— क्या आप मेरा गेट ढूँढ़ने में मेरी मदद कर सकते हैं?
— Can you help me find my gate?
— ज़रूर, क्या मैं आपका बोर्डिंग पास देख सकता हूँ?
— Of course, may I see your boarding pass?