The word “helpful” mainly conveys the meaning of showing the ability for good development. Let us check if the word “helpful” is an adjective, noun, or adverb.
The word “helpful” comes under the category of an adjective in English parts of speech. We can not use “helpful” as a noun or an adverb as the noun form of the word “helpful” is “helpfulness” and the adverbial form is “helpfully”.
Let us check important usages of various forms of “helpful” as an adjective, noun, and adverb.
When is “helpful” an adjective?
A person, place, thing, or ideas that are named entities can be modified with an adjective. Let us check when the word “helpful” is an adjective.
The word “helpful” becomes an adjective when we describe a noun or noun equivalent with meanings like “productive, advantageous, essential, etc. We must not use the adjective “helpful” in a negative sense, though we can use the same in a mocking tone.
Examples of “helpful” as an adjective –
Now we will learn the various roles of the word “helpful” as an adjective in the form of examples.
| Example | Aspect to show | Explanation |
| 1. Everyone acknowledges that my father, Robin, is very helpful as he is always present in need of others. | Outlining of singular noun | The adjective “helpful” is in use to describe a singular noun, Robin, while depicting the meaning in need. |
| 2. Everyone acknowledges that my parents are very helpful as they are always present in need of others. | Outlining of plural noun | The adjective “helpful” is in use to describe plural nouns while depicting the meaning in need. |
| 3. Everyone in society loves my father as he is helpful to everyone in society. | Outlining of singular pronoun | The adjective “helpful” is in use to describe singular pronouns while depicting the meaning sympathetic. |
| 4. Everyone in society loves my parents as they are helpful to everyone in society. | Outlining of plural pronoun | The adjective “helpful” is in use to describe the plural pronouns while depicting the meaning of sympathetic. |
| 5. Everyone in society loves my aged father as he is helpful to everyone in society. | Outlining of singular noun phrase | The singular noun phrase age-old father has been modified with the help of the adjective “helpful.” |
| 6. Everyone in society loves my aged parents as they are helpful to everyone in society. | Outlining of plural noun phrase | The plural noun phrase aged parents has been modified with the help of the adjective “helpful.” |
| 7. You can rely blindly on my parents because my father is as helpful as my mother. | To mark the similarity | The similarity between the father and mother of the speaker has been shown with the help of the adjective “helpful” in terms of sympathetic nature. |
| 8. My friend Sandip is more helpful to my family than my friend Pijush. | To show the comparison | The comparison between the two friends of the speaker has been shown with the help of the adjective “helpful.” |
| 9. Though I have lots of friends, my friend Sandip is the most helpful in my friend group. | To show the superiority | The superiority of the speaker’s friend Sandip has been shown with the help of the adjective “helpful.” |
Is “helpful” a descriptive adjective?
The word “helpful” always denotes a positive attribute of a noun or noun equivalent. Let us check if the adjective “helpful” is a descriptive adjective or not.
The adjective “helpful” comes under the category of descriptive adjective in parts of speech. It mainly denotes the meaning in a supportive manner or in a cooperative manner.
Examples of “helpful” as a descriptive adjective –
Now, we will learn some examples that are framed with the adjective “helpful.” Related explanations are also given herewith.
| Example | Explanation |
| 1. Pijush is so helpful that he is present for every person in our society. | The adjective “helpful” is in use to depict the meaning sympathetic, which refers to the proper noun Pijush. |
| 2. I always try to be helpful to my mother in the kitchen, but I finally end up creating a mess in the kitchen. | The adjective “helpful” is in use to depict the meaning of “trying to be productive. Here, the adjective “helpful” has been used by the speaker in a mocking tone. |
| 3. One must be helpful to others, as we ourselves can not live without the help of others. | The adjective “helpful” is in use to depict the essential meaning, which refers not to any single person but all of us. |
| 4. We can ask the uncle of our next door to collect the delivery as he is very helpful. | The adjective “helpful” is in use to depict the meaning favorable, which refers to all of us. |
| 5. Mina and Renu are quarrelling with each other. Now, we need their helpful mother to stop them. | The adjective “helpful” is in use to depict the meaning of “important,” which refers to the proper nouns Mina and Renu. |
| 6. We need a helpful guide to guide ourselves to fulfill our first dream project. | The adjective “helpful” is in use to depict the meaning of sympathetic, which refers to all of us. |
| 7. We all know that Sandip is helpful from his childhood days, as he used to help his mother when he was in third grade. | The adjective “helpful” is in use to depict the meaning constructive, which refers to the proper noun Sandip. |
Is “helpful” a noun?
The word “helpful” means a quality or status that is supportive or sympathetic. Let us check if the word “helpful” is a noun or not.
The word “helpful” can not be used as a noun in parts of speech. If we want to use the word “helpful” as a noun, then we must add the suffix ‘ness’ to the word and frame the word “helpfulness” as the noun form of the word “helpful”.
When “helpfulness” is a noun?
We already know that the word “helpfulness” is a noun and not the word “helpful”. Let us check when the word “helpful” is a noun.
We can use the word “helpfulness” as a noun when we refer to it as a naming entity of a quality. The quality referred to by the noun “helpfulness” means a nature which is always eager to support or cooperate with others who are in need.
Which type of noun is “helpfulness”?
The noun “helpfulness” is all about a quality and not a state. Let us check the type of noun to which the word “helpfulness” belongs.
The noun “helpfulness” belongs to the group of “abstract nouns” among the types of nouns. The word “helpfulness” as a noun mainly refers to a specific quality which is all about usefulness or convenient nature.
Examples of “helpfulness” as a noun –
Now, we will go through examples and explanations that are framed with the noun helpfulness.
| Example | Explanation |
| 1. We must teach children to develop the helpfulness within them to be good citizens. | The noun “helpfulness” is in use to mark the supportive nature that we should foster in children. |
| 2. We have found true helpfulness among local shopkeepers during a pandemic situation. | The noun “helpfulness” is in use to mark the cooperative nature that we have seen in the local shopkeepers. |
| 3. I have seen qualities like nobility, happiness, and helpfulness in all of my three nieces. | The noun “helpfulness” is in use to mark the good quality that the speaker had found in his nieces. |
| 4. Helpfulness among pet dogs is something precious that we must save as an asset. | The noun “helpfulness” is in use to mark the faithful quality that we can easily find in pet dogs. |
| 5. The helpfulness of tourist guides in India always impresses foreigners who visit India over and over. | The noun “helpfulness” is in use to mark the supportive quality which the tourist guides of India show to foreigners. |
Is “helpful” an adverb?
The addition of prefixes and suffixes is common in English words to make them change forms. Let us check if the word “helpful” is an adverb or not.
The word “helpful” can not be used as an adverb as the adverbial form of the word “helpful” is “helpfully.” The adverbial form “helpfully” depicts the meaning in a helpful manner.
When “helpfully” is an adverb?
The meaning of an adjective and an adverbial form of the same word are connected. Let us learn when we can use “helpfully” as an adverb.
We can use the adverb “helpfully” when we need to add meaning in a helpful manner. We can add the respective meaning to an action or activity to mark the word “helpfully” as an adverb.
Which type of adverb is “helpfully”?
Adverbs of frequency and adverbs of degree are examples of some kinds of adverbs. Let us check the category of the adverb “helpfully.”
The adverb “helpfully” belongs to the group of adverbs of manner in the English language. Beautifully, neatly, and kindly are some other examples of adverbs of manner.
Examples of the adverb “helpfully” –
Now, we will go through some examples that are framed with the adverb “helpfully.”
| Example | Explanation |
| 1. I tried helpfully, but he took it the other way. | The adverb “helpfully” is in use to modify the action “trying” to depict the meaning “in a supportive way”. |
| 2. The woman cooks helpfully for all the orphan children on a daily basis without any remuneration. | The adverb “helpfully” is in use to modify the action “cooking” to depict the meaning “in a kind way”. |
| 3. The cat is helpfully pulling the other kittens to go to a safe place. | The adverb “helpfully” is in use to modify the action “pulling” to depict the meaning “in a cooperative way”. |
| 4. The junior should be grateful as the manager is helpfully solving the problem of the junior accountant. | The adverb “helpfully” is in use to modify the action “solving” to depict the meaning “in a caring manner”. |
| 5. The man on the road is helpfully crossing the blind person to go to the other side. | The adverb “helpfully” is in use to modify the action “crossing” to depict the meaning “in a sympathetic way”. |
Conclusion –
We can conclude the topic by having a glance at three forms of the word “helpful”. The adjective form of the root word “helpful” is “helpful,” while the noun form is “helpfulness” and the adverbial form is “helpfully.”
Hey! I am Arpita Bose Roy. My qualifications are M.A. in English with B. Ed. in both general education and special education. I have 2 years of experience as a “language analyst” at IIT Kharagpur and 4 years of experience as an “Academic Content Developer” at IIT Kharagpur. Currently, I am working as an academic writer at Lambdageeks.