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to do me a favour

to do me a favour

1 3.0
Ask someone politely to help you with something
  • phrasal verb
  • UK
translation icon : hacerme un favor
  • Could you do me a favour and help me with my homework?

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Examples

Synonyms

to oblige
vsto do me a favour
81 4.1

To do a favor for someone when they ask

asks for help as a courtesy rather than performing the action
to lend a hand
vsto do me a favour
  • Informal
28 1.3

To help someone with a task

requests someone else to provide a service or favor rather than offering it
be so kind as to
vsto do me a favour
  • Formal
15 6.2

To politely ask someone to do something

is a casual request asking someone for help or a small service

Antonyms

1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

716 1.7

To say no to a request or offer

How Helpful

to go out of one's way
  • Informal
53 3.5
to do me a favour
  • UK
1 3.0
help
1.0
to ignore
1.0

Surface Forms

do me a favour infinitive
do me a favor infinitive
done me a favour past participle
done me a favor past participle
doing me a favour present participle
doing me a favor present participle
does me a favour third person singular
does me a favor third person singular

Morphology

do + me + a + favor

The phrase literally combines 'do' (perform) + 'me' (for me) + 'a favour' (a kind action), so its meaning 'perform a kind act for me / help me' is directly derivable from the constituents. The construction is common cross-linguistically (e.g. Spanish 'hazme un favor'), so a B1 learner who knows the words will almost always infer the intended request.

Etymology

Do me a favour comes from the simple idea of asking someone to do something for me as a favour. That's why it is used today to politely ask someone to 'help me' or 'do something for me'.