ATTEND vs. ASSIST

Hello and welcome back to the Daily Vitamin. I hope you had a great weekend!

Today we are going to look at two words that are often confused in English, especially by Spanish speakers: assist and attend.

TO ASSIST means: to help

TO ATTEND means: to be present at an event.

Example 1:
We're organising a big conference in November, and we need people to assist with the publicity. If we don't get this mailing out this week, very few people will come.

Example 2:
You're doing a fantastic job; let me know if I can assist you in any way.

Example 3:
Barcelona's hotels were full in September, when thousands of visitors attended the ACME conference.

Example 4:
She was unable to attend the gala dinner because she had to assist with the final preparations.

As you can see, the meanings of these words are the exact opposite of their meanings in Spanish (atender and asistir).

⇒ In order to get some writing practice, I encourage you to write your own sentences with today's words. You can post your sentences to one of our social media sites (Facebook or Bluesky) and we will give you feedback about your writing ASAP. 

Have a great day!