[Grammar] to be of some help

[Csika]

Dear Friends,

An American guy did me some favour, and I offered him to cover his expenses. He declined and wrote:

"There have been no costs so far, and in any case I'm glad to be of some help."

Hm. I guess he means that he is glad that there is help if needed but I am interested in the grammatical motivation behind the highlighted part. The whole thing sounds strange to me.

Thank you.

Csika

 

[emsr2d2]

Dear Friends,

An American guy did me some favour, and I offered him to cover his expenses. He declined and wrote:

"There have been no costs so far, and in any case I'm glad to be of some help."

Hm. I guess he means that he is glad that there is help if needed but I am interested in the grammatical motivation behind the highlighted part. The whole thing sounds strange to me.

Thank you.

Csika

He means that it made him happy to help you! He was happy that he could be "of some help" to you.

We use this construction sometimes.

Can I be of any help?
Can I be of any assistance?