phrasal verb · informal
give someone a hand
/ɡɪv ˈsʌmwʌn ə hænd/give·some·ONE·a·HAND
speaking
to help somebody, usually with a practical task
Examples
“Could you give me a hand with these boxes?”
“I gave my neighbour a hand painting her fence last weekend.”
“In the speaking test, it's natural to offer 'Can I give you a hand?' if someone describes a difficult task.”
Band 8 sentence
“When my car broke down, three strangers stopped and gave me a hand without hesitation.”
Collocations
- give someone a hand with + noun (the shopping, the furniture)
- Could you give me a hand?
Word family
give someone a hand base phrasegave someone a hand pastgiving someone a hand gerund
Common mistakes
give a hand to→give someone a hand
give someone hand→give someone a hand
Say it for a higher band
5help→6assist→7+give someone a hand
Synonyms
help
assist
Easily confused
help
“Can you help me with my homework?”
Related words
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In give …
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