be present

assist

– be present

1. 'assist'

If you assist someone, you help them. Assist is a formal word.

We may be able to assist with the tuition fees.

They are raising money to assist hurricane victims.

2. 'be present'

If you want to say that someone is there when something happens, you say that someone is present.

He had been present at the dance.

There is no need for me to be present.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

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References in periodicals archive ?

I asked them to do three things: Step Up (be present); Step Forward (take the hand of a child or young person); and Speak Out (to make a difference).

From Peg

"I will be present in those houses as I am present in My House of Prayer in Achill Island.

Prayer houses needed

But then, I am not present, not expected to be present. My "private" person--I easily fall into the habit of thinking of myself as private person playing a public role--is insulated, untouched.