Você pode me ajudar?
Chapter Overview
This chapter continues Unit III by giving you the tools to ask for help, describe what you and others can or know how to do, and resolve small problems that come up in everyday services. You will build on the request formulas from Capítulo 12 (com licença, desculpe, você poderia...?) and add three high-frequency verbs of ability and permission — poder, saber, and conseguir — along with formulaic object pronouns me, te, and lhe, and the pattern para mim / para você. Together these systems let you ask someone for help, offer help to someone else, and work through a simple service problem when something goes wrong.
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Ask for help using Você pode me ajudar? and related formulas.
- Distinguish poder, saber, and conseguir by function: permission/possibility, learned ability, and success/capacity.
- Use the formulaic object pronouns me, te, and lhe in fixed request patterns.
- Use para mim and para você to say who a favor or action is for.
- Describe a simple service problem and ask someone to fix it.
- Combine these systems into a short spoken and written exchange about getting help.
Communication Scenario
Something has not gone as planned — your phone is not working, you cannot find an item, or you need someone to explain something again. You ask a friend, a classmate, or a service worker for help, recycling the request formulas and directions language from Capítulo 12.
- This chapter activates poder, saber, conseguir, formulaic me/te/lhe, and para mim/para você for the first time.
- Full clitic placement and register-sensitive object pronouns remain outside this chapter's scope; here, me, te, and lhe are learned only as fixed formulas attached to a small set of verbs.
- You may invent your own problem or service situation if you prefer not to describe a real one.
Core Vocabulary
The following vocabulary supports asking for help, describing ability, and resolving simple problems with services, phones, and public interactions.
| Portuguese | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ajudar | to help | regular -ar verb |
| poder | can, to be able to / to be allowed to | irregular; permission and general possibility |
| saber | to know (a fact); to know how to | irregular; learned ability, e.g. saber nadar |
| conseguir | to manage to, to be able to (and succeed) | irregular -ir verb; emphasizes success, not just permission |
| o problema | the problem | masculine noun despite ending in -a |
| o celular, a bateria, a internet, a senha | the cell phone, the battery, the internet, the password | common tech/service vocabulary |
| funcionar | to work (function correctly) | regular -ar verb; não está funcionando is formulaic |
| quebrado, perdido | broken, lost | adjectives with gender/number agreement |
| explicar, repetir, mostrar | to explain, to repeat, to show | common help-requesting verbs |
| me, te, lhe | me, you (informal), you/him/her (formal) | formulaic object pronouns; not yet a full productive system |
| para mim, para você | for me, for you | strong pronoun forms after para |
| o telefone, ligar para, o número | the telephone, to call, the number | phone and public-interaction vocabulary |
All nouns are listed with gender information where relevant. Diacritics must be preserved in every written use of this vocabulary.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns
Use this pattern to ask someone directly for help. It combines the present tense of poder with the formulaic object pronoun me and the verb ajudar.
- Você pode me explicar de novo, por favor? Can you explain it to me again, please?
- Você pode me mostrar onde fica? Can you show me where it is?
In this chapter, me, te, and lhe are learned only as part of fixed request formulas attached to poder and a small set of verbs. Full object-pronoun placement rules and register choices between te and lhe develop later in the series.
All three verbs can be translated as "can" in English, but they answer different questions in Portuguese.
- Você pode me ajudar agora? Can you help me right now? (Are you available/permitted to?) poder — general possibility or permission
- Eu sei consertar celulares. I know how to fix cell phones. saber — learned skill or knowledge
- Eu não consigo abrir esse arquivo. I can't manage to open this file. conseguir — capacity/success, often with obstacles
Do not treat these three verbs as simple interchangeable synonyms for "can." Poder asks whether something is allowed or possible; saber asks whether someone has learned how; conseguir asks whether someone actually succeeds, often against some difficulty.
Use these strong pronoun forms after para to say who an action or favor benefits.
- Você pode fazer isso para mim? Can you do that for me?
- Isso é para você. This is for you.
Mim is used only after prepositions such as para, never as a subject. Do not confuse it with eu.
Use estar with an adjective, or não estar funcionando, to describe something that is not working, recycling estar from earlier chapters. Meu celular está quebrado. ("My cell phone is broken.") A internet não está funcionando. ("The internet isn't working.") Combine this with a request formula and poder, saber, or conseguir to ask someone to resolve it.
Model Dialogue
Note você pode me ajudar, eu não consigo, and eu sei consertar in this dialogue — all three ability verbs appear in a single natural exchange, each doing a different communicative job.
Guided Practice
- Reread the model dialogue and underline every use of poder, saber, and conseguir.
- Choose poder, saber, or conseguir: Eu não ______ abrir a porta, ela está travada. / Você ______ nadar? / ______ (você) me ajudar amanhã?
- Complete with mim or você: Isso é para ______. (talking about a gift you are giving to a friend) / Você pode fazer isso para ______? (asking for yourself)
- Write a sentence describing something broken, using estar quebrado or não estar funcionando.
Listening Task
If no audio recording is available, ask a partner, instructor, or text-to-speech tool to read the script below aloud, or read it aloud to yourself slowly.
- What problem does the speaker describe?
- What does the helper ask the speaker to remember?
- Why is the computer important to the speaker?
Speaking Task
Prática controlada — Controlled practice: three sentences
Say each sentence aloud: Você pode me ajudar com ______? (a request); Eu sei ______ / Eu não sei ______. (a known ability); Eu não consigo ______. (an obstacle)
Tarefa comunicativa — Communicative task: ask for help
With a partner, take turns describing a small problem (a broken item, a forgotten password, a confusing instruction) and asking for help, using at least one of poder, saber, or conseguir, and the formula Você pode me ______?
Prática individual — Solo alternative
Record yourself describing a problem you had recently and asking an imagined friend for help, using at least two of the three ability verbs and one sentence with para mim or para você.
Reading Task
Uma mensagem para o vizinho
Oi! Tudo bem? Você pode me ajudar com um problema? A internet do meu apartamento não está funcionando desde ontem e eu preciso muito dela para o trabalho. Você sabe o número da companhia de internet? Eu não consigo encontrar a conta em casa. Se você souber, isso seria muito importante para mim. Eu também posso te ajudar com alguma coisa, se precisar!
Notice você pode me ajudar, você sabe, eu não consigo, and te ajudar in this message. Each ability verb and formulaic pronoun appears in a natural, communicative context.
Tarefa de leitura — Reading task:
- What problem does the writer describe?
- What does the writer ask the neighbor to know?
- What does the writer offer to do in return?
Writing Task
Complete the following linked writing tasks in order to build a short message asking a friend for help.
Tarefa 1 — Problem: Write one sentence describing something broken or not working, using estar quebrado or não estar funcionando.
Tarefa 2 — Request: Write one sentence asking for help using Você pode me ______?
Tarefa 3 — Ability: Write one sentence with saber or conseguir describing what you can or cannot do.
Tarefa 4 — Full message: Combine Tarefas 1–3 into one short message of five to six sentences asking a friend for help, following the model of the Reading Task passage.
- Draft each section separately. Write the problem, the request, and the ability sentences one at a time before combining them.
- Combine the sections into one message. Add a greeting at the start, recycled from Capítulo 1.
- Check poder/saber/conseguir. Confirm you chose the verb that matches permission/possibility, learned skill, or success.
- Check me/te/lhe and para mim/para você. Confirm the pronoun matches who is helping whom.
- Check diacritics. Confirm that forms such as você, não, and está keep their correct spelling.
Lista de revisão — Editing checklist:
- The message includes a greeting, a described problem, a request, and an ability sentence.
- poder, saber, and conseguir are used correctly for their distinct functions.
- The formulaic pronouns me, te, or lhe are used only in the fixed request patterns taught this chapter.
- para mim and/or para você are used correctly, if included.
- All diacritics are preserved.
Culture and Communication
In many Brazilian social settings, offering help proactively — even before being asked directly — is common and appreciated, and accepting help graciously is expected in return. A polite request opener such as com licença paired with você pode me ajudar? is appropriate with strangers, coworkers, and service staff alike.
The choice between te and lhe varies by region and formality across Brazil. In much everyday spoken Brazilian Portuguese, te is common even alongside você, while lhe tends to appear in more formal or written contexts. This chapter presents both as formulaic recognition and limited production items; a fuller register-sensitive treatment of object pronouns develops in later volumes.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Error: Saying Eu não sei abrir esse arquivo to mean "I can't get this file to open" when the problem is a technical obstacle, not a lack of learned skill.
Correction: Use conseguir for capacity or success against an obstacle: Eu não consigo abrir esse arquivo. Reserve saber for learned knowledge or skill: Eu não sei usar esse programa.
Error: Writing Mim posso ajudar instead of using the subject pronoun.
Correction: Mim only follows a preposition such as para: Eu posso ajudar. / Isso é para mim.
Error: Trying to place me, te, or lhe freely with any verb, as if the full clitic system were already active.
Correction: At this stage, use these pronouns only in the fixed patterns practiced in this chapter, such as Você pode me ajudar? Broader clitic placement develops in later volumes.
Chapter Summary
O que você praticou — What you practiced
This chapter activated poder, saber, and conseguir for describing permission, learned ability, and success, along with formulaic me/te/lhe and para mim/para você. You practiced these systems by asking for help, describing simple problems, and offering help to others across listening, speaking, reading, and writing tasks.
Chapter Review
Parte A — Compreensão (Comprehension)
1. Return to the Model Dialogue, and answer these short questions.
- What is wrong with the customer's phone?
- What does the employee ask the customer to do?
Parte B — Escrita (Writing)
1. Write one sentence each with poder, saber, and conseguir, keeping their meanings distinct.
2. Write one sentence using para mim or para você.
Parte C — Leitura (Reading)
1. Return to the Uma mensagem para o vizinho passage in the Reading Task, and list the problem and the request.
Parte D — Fala (Speaking)
1. Tell a partner about a small problem and ask for help, using at least one ability verb.
Practical Performance Task
Chapter 13 Practical Check
Você pode me ajudar? Asking for Help and Resolving a Problem
Complete the following connected tasks, in order, as one integrated performance.
- Read the Uma mensagem para o vizinho passage. Answer the comprehension questions above before continuing.
- Describe a problem. Use estar quebrado or não estar funcionando.
- Make a request for help. Use Você pode me ______?
- Use at least two of the three ability verbs. Distinguish poder, saber, and conseguir correctly.
- Include para mim or para você. Say who the help is for.
- Combine all steps into one spoken and written exchange about asking for and resolving help, applying the editing checklist from the Writing Task.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Requests | The learner uses a request formula and formulaic me appropriately to ask for help. |
| Poder/saber/conseguir | The learner distinguishes permission, learned ability, and success correctly. |
| Para mim/para você | The learner uses strong pronoun forms correctly after para. |
| Problem description | The learner describes a simple problem accurately using recycled estar structures. |
| Formulaic pronoun use | The learner keeps me/te/lhe within the fixed patterns taught this chapter. |
| Diacritics and spelling | The learner preserves diacritics throughout, including você, não, and está. |
This checkpoint uses only material activated through Chapter 13.
Answer Key
Guided Practice
- Sample: você pode me ajudar, eu não consigo, eu sei consertar — other correct identifications from the dialogue are also acceptable.
- consigo / sabe / Você pode
- mim / mim
- Sample: Meu celular está quebrado. / A internet não está funcionando. (other accurate sentences are also correct)
Listening Task — Comprehension
- The speaker forgot the password and cannot get into the computer (eu não consigo entrar no meu computador).
- The helper asks if the speaker can remember the email (você consegue lembrar o seu e-mail?).
- The speaker needs the computer for work (para o trabalho).
Reading Task
- The writer's internet has not been working since yesterday; the writer asks the neighbor if they know the internet company's number, since the account cannot be found at home; the writer offers to help the neighbor with something in return.
Chapter Review
- The phone's battery won't charge and won't turn on; the employee asks the customer to leave the phone for an hour.
- Sample: Você pode me ajudar? / Eu sei nadar. / Eu não consigo abrir a porta. (other accurate sentences following the same patterns are also correct)
- Sample: Isso é muito importante para mim. (other accurate sentences are also correct)
Looking Ahead
O que você já sabe fazer — What you can do now
You can ask for help, distinguish permission, learned ability, and success, use formulaic object pronouns in fixed request patterns, and say who an action is for using para mim and para você.