The following question is taken from First for Schools Trainer 2 with Answers published by Cambridge English and Cambridge University Press.
The task below is copied verbatim
Test 4 Reading and Use of English • Part 4
For questions 25-30, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
25 Without all your help, I wouldn't have been able to skate.
HELPED
I wouldn't have been able to skate if............... so much
My answer was
I wouldn't have been able to skate if YOU HADN'T HELPED ME so much.
The correct answer at the back of the book was
YOU HADN'T / HAD NOT HELPED
I believe my answer, and that of the student whom I was helping to prepare, is correct. Even though the verb help can be transitive or intransitive, it is absolutely necessary to include the object pronoun “me".
Is the book's answer also correct?
Can someone please provide a detailed answer as to why the pronoun “me" can or must not be ellipsed.