Help + bare infinitive vs. help + to-infinitive

[Tamara]

Hi

Another try (I know, I already asked the similar question before)...

Could you word the general difference in use help + bare infinitive and help + to-infinitive?

'Can you help me put together a story about adoption?'
'One way to help put your point across is… '
'Behavioural therapy can help to put sleep problems to rest ...'

Sometimes to does seem just optional, sometimes... it definitely doesn't.
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[Pamela]

Hi Tamara
That is my grain of salt:
Yes, the verb help can be followed by to-infinitive or bare infinitive, there is no difference in meaning. But using help with bare infinitive sounds more informal.

[Yankee]

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To my American ear, using 'help' with a 'to-infinitive' simply sounds British rather than more formal.
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Alan]

Hi Tamara,

Perhaps 'to' is more common with a preceding object.

A
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English as a Second Language
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[Tamara]

Hi

Thanks for your responses.

[Pamela]

Anyway, I think that with a preceding object both variants are acceptable
Ex. Can somebody help me (to) move this table?

[Yankee]

Hi Pamela

I'd definitely expect "Can somebody help me move this table?" from an American mouth.
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Alan]

Hi,

My English mouth would not utter any negative response to that.

A
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English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Too Many Words

[Pamela]

Hi Alan and Amy
I’ve never met the bare-infinitive used after the verbs of sense perception given in present tense. Vice versa, all the examples in my books and even in the Internet are given with these verbs in past tense

Ex. In a few minutes they heard him ascend the ladder to his own room

Can I say:

Ex. I hear my mother say...(personally, I don't like this one)

Or –ing form is more preferable

[Yankee]

Hi Pamela

There's nothing wrong with "I hear my mother say...", but with the bare infinitive in the simple present tense it wouldn't be used to talk about a single instance:
"I often hear my mother say a little prayer just before she gets in an elevator."

The difference between the infinitive and the -ing form is pretty much the usual difference: looking at something as a complete act vs an activity. So, without any other context, I would interpret "I hear my mother saying a prayer" as something happening now (i.e. a single instance, during the activity).

Amy
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Pamela]

Hi Amy
Thanks for your brilliant explanation! I became confused when I found no present form of the verbs to feel, to hear…in the examples, though I was cognizant of the difference between the Infinitive and -ing form, nevertheless I called into question this usage of the bare infinitive