In social situations, thanks may be the most important expressions to show your politeness and awareness of the other's favor. We can't live without being helped or helping others. So we should know how to offer assistance and express your gratitude to those who help you.

As the Chinese old saying goes “Fragrance will be reserved in your hand when you present others with roses.” If someone meets with some difficulties, then you come to help him, thank you will make you feel that you have done a meaningful thing. Now, we are going to learn how to ask for help and thanks for help.

1. First, let’s look at some basic words and phrases about Help and Thanks.

 (1). favor: an act of gracious kindness

    (2). assistance: the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose

   (3) gratitude: a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation

(4). do me a favor: 帮我一个忙；拜托你

(5). at your service: 听候吩咐；乐意效劳

(6). Thank you all the same. 仍然感谢，You thank someone even though their offer didn't help.

(7). Thank you anyway. You thank people even though you don't need their help.

1.1 The usage of “help”

Whenever we mention “help”, we may think of something, like if we are abroad and walking on a street and we don’t know where we’re going and asking questions. For example, if we want to go to the toilet, so we have to ask for the way or things like that. So now let’s think together what is the first word or sentence you can use if you want to ask help.

So we get the first important sentence today------“Excuse me. Can you help me?” or “Excuse me. But can you help me?

Here if we don’t want to use the word “help”, we can change the sentence into “Can you do me a favor?” This is a formal expression. However, when we need our friends’ help, we can say “Excuse me. Can you give me a hand?” or “Excuse me. Will you lend me a hand?”

Just now we mentioned an important word help. Now let’s look at this word.

1. help with sth 

My sister helps with my study 

2. help sb do sth 直接帮助

He helps me open the door. 

3. help sb to do sth 间接帮助 

Reading a book helps me to improve my personality. 读书能够提高我的修养。

1.2 Gratitude and Thanks

When people have helped you, you usually give thanks to them, indicating your appreciation of the favor. This is true of both the Chinese and western culture. Yet differences are easily found between them in how people express their gratitude and thanks, and how they respond to the expressions of gratitude and thanks from others.

In Chinese families, we rarely say “Thank you” to other family members for receiving help or service. Neither will we say so between good friends. It’s such an unpopular response that if you say it, the counterpart will think you are treating him as a stranger, otherwise you are lacking of intimacy.

In the Western world, saying “Thank you” is very common in America, even between parents and children, husband and wife and for very small and most ordinary things. So they thank people all day long. Including the saleswoman, the student, and so on.

2. Basic patterns

(1) Asking for Help

1) Can you help me?

2) Excuse me, would you do me a favor?

3) Will you lend me a hand?

4) Will you help me (clean the blackboard)?

Responses:

1)  Certainly.   2) No problem.     3) Of course.    4) With pleasure.  5) I'm sorry, I can't.

(2) Offering Help   

1) May I help you?     2) Can I help you?    3) Anything I can do for you?

4) What can I do for you?

Responses:

1) Yes, please.    2) It's very kind of you.    3) Thank you (very much).

4) Thank you a lot.   5) No, thank you.

(3)  Responses to Thanks  

1)I'm glad that I could be of assistance.

能帮上忙我很高兴 

2)I'm always glad to help you.很高兴能为您效劳

3)I'm delighted I was able to help.

能帮上忙我很高兴 

4)You would have done the same in my position,

I'm sure.您如果处在我的地位一定也会这么做

5)My pleasure.不用谢

6)It was the least I could do.实在微不足道，尽力而已

7)Think nothing of it.不必客气

8)Don't mention it.不用谢