There are phrases in the English language that look and sound so similar to each other to the point that it becomes incredibly difficult to be able to differentiate between them. In this article, we’ll explore two of these phrases: “of great help” and “a great help”.
“Of Great Help” or “A Great Help” – Which Is Correct?
Both “of great help” and “a great help” are grammatically correct. The preposition “of” can be used to describe a person or a thing, while “a” can also be used in the same manner. As such, both can be used interchangeably to describe someone who was “of/a great help”.
The main difference between the phrases “of great help” and “a great help” are the words “of” and “a”.
“Of” is a preposition that can be used to describe a person or a thing (e.g. a person of good taste). Meanwhile, “a” can also be used in a similar manner (e.g. a wonderful friend)
As such, both “of great help” and “a great help” are grammatically correct and can be used interchangeably. Take these two sentences for example:
- Your brother was of great help to me today.
- Your brother was a great help to me today.
As you can see above, the use of “of” and “a” makes little difference in the overall meaning of the sentence.
Of Great Help
The phrase “of great help” is used to describe a person or an object that was of considerable usefulness.
When you want to describe someone or something that was of considerable use to you, someone else, or something else, you can use the phrase “of great help”.
This phrase is sometimes used as a way to show appreciation for the person or the object that one considers to have been useful. It can be used interchangeably with “a great help”.
Below are examples of how to use “of great help” in a sentence:
- Your daughter was of great help to me today.
- I hope Caroline would be of great help to your mother this week.
- You and your classmates were of great help to Mrs. Chan this morning.
- I hope to be of great help to your company in the coming months.
- Believe it or not, Thomas was of great help in the construction of the fence.
A Great Help
The phrase “a great help” is used to describe someone or something that provided substantial assistance to you, someone else, or something else.
If someone or something has provided substantial assistance to you, someone else, or something else, you can use the phrase “a great help” to describe that person or object. The phrase also works with multiple people and objects.
It can be used interchangeably with “of great help”. Like “of great help”, this phrase can be used to show appreciation for the person or object that provided substantial assistance.
Below are examples of how to use “a great help” in a sentence:
- Your children were a great help to me today.
- I can say that Mackenzie was a great help to Mrs. Ten this week.
- Carlson, your team was a great help to the festival this weekend.
- Don’t worry, you were a great help to my grandfather.
- I’m so grateful that Sophie was there, she was a great help to me in the hospital.
Which Is Used The Most?
“A great help” is more commonly used than “of great help”, according to data from Google Ngram Viewer.
According to data from Google Ngram Viewer, which can tabulate how often certain phrases are used in a wide range of books, “a great help” is more commonly used than “of great help”.
This is based on data from books written in English between the years 1800-2019.
It is interesting to note that while “a great help” has been considerably more popular than “of great help” since 1800, the two phrases were about as popular as each other from the years 1959 to 1969.
Since then, however, the usage of “a great help” has once again surpassed that of “of great help”.
Is It “Of Great Help To Me” or “Of Great Help For Me?
The correct phrase to use in this situation is “of great help to me”, rather than “of great help for me”. While the words “to” and “for” are sometimes interchangeable, this is not one of those times. The word “to” is more applicable in this phrase than the word “for”.
“Of great help to me” is the grammatically correct form of the phrase, not “of great help for me”.
The difference between the words “to” and “for” can be seen here. While these words are sometimes used interchangeably, this is not one of those times.
The word “to” and “for” are both used to show the recipient of an action. However, it is only “to” that shows who experiences an action. Take these sentences for example:
- Correct: Hannah was of great help to me.
- Incorrect: Hannah was of great help for me.
Since “help” is an action that is more experienced than received, the word “to” is the more appropriate one in this situation.
Great Help vs. Of Great Help
The phrase “great help” cannot be used without the words “of” and “a” preceding it. The phrase must be in the form “of great help” or “a great help” to be grammatically correct. The word “helpful” can also be used in lieu of “great help”.
When using the phrase “great help”, you must also use the words “of” or “a” in front of it.
The phrase “great help” on its own is not grammatically correct. Instead, it should be in the form “of great help” or “a great help” to be grammatically correct.
Take a look at the sentences below:
- Correct: I hope to be of great help to you.
- Correct: I hope to be a great help to you.
- Incorrect: I hope to be great help to you.
As seen above, the third sentence does not flow as well as the first two. If you really don’t want to use the words “of” or “a”, you can replace the phrase “great help” with the word “helpful”.
Here is the above sentence with the word “helpful” instead of “great help”:
- I hope to be helpful to you.
Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.
