English Reference
Adjective

helpful

adj.
A2 Elementary Oxford US /ˈhɛɫpfəɫ/ UK /hˈɛlpfəl/ help·ful

adj.giving useful help or making a situation easier for you. You use this to describe people who do things for others or things that provide good information.

adj.providing assistance or useful information; beneficial in achieving a specific goal. Often used to describe both human agents and inanimate resources like books or advice.


SIMPLE

The staff at the hotel are very helpful.

CONTEXTUAL

I found a very helpful guide online that explained how to fix my broken laptop screen.

COMPLEX

While the initial feedback was critical, the reviewer provided several helpful suggestions that allowed the team to refine the final product before the official launch.

Usage

Commonly followed by the preposition 'to' or 'for', or an infinitive with 'to' ('helpful to know').

Pitfall
He is very helpfullyHe is very helpful

Learners sometimes confuse the adjective 'helpful' with the adverb 'helpfully' when describing a person's character.

Usage left helpful · northern helpful · particularly helpful


From Middle English helpful; equivalent to help + -ful.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Middle English helpful
Level A2 · Elementary
Frequency Common
Updated