Spanish language Q&A Forum

In "....ayuda a reducir los efectos...".  is the "a" required because ayudar always takes "a" before an infinitive?  If followed by a human or animal the "personal a" is also required, e.g. Ayudo a mi padre, but not if the object is inanimate. Is this correct?

I have difficulty to understand (Me cuesta entender) the difference between me voy and voy. Is it usually possible to yse them almost synonymously?

The way I learned, for many of the examples you give here, I would probably use the construction estar de acuerdo. (ie. Estoy de acuerdo contigo = I agree with you). 

Can someone explain what the differences between acordar and estar de acuerdo are. I wonder if the latter is regional variation as I'm not sure if I ever heard it said in Spain?

I ask because in the recording for "Yo vivo en Córdoba" it's a "yo" sound. But for the "Yo vivo en el barrio de Gràcia" recording it's a soft j sound resulting in "jo".

When I practice at Duolingo I also sometimes here the y vs. j difference. Are both interchangeable in Spanish? If no, what are the rules for choosing j vs. y?

Or, is the recording audio simply not of good quality?

Yo veía lo que el hacía/hizo.

Would the first verb mean that e.g. I saw how he was building something and the second that I saw the reault... e.g. a house? Thank you.