
Necesito que…
Necesito + infinitive = I need to: necesito hablar contigo. Necesito que + subjunctive = I need someone else to: necesito que vengas (I need you to come). In shops: ¿necesita algo más? (do you need anything else?). And hacer falta is a common alternative: me hace falta un abrigo.
Indicative tenses of necesitar
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | necesitoI need |
|---|---|
| tú | necesitasyou need |
| él/ella/usted | necesitahe/she needs |
| nosotros/as | necesitamoswe need |
| vosotros/as | necesitáisyou all need |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | necesitanthey need |
Necesito + noun or infinitive: necesito ayuda, necesito dormir.
Preterite indicative
| yo | necesitéI needed |
|---|---|
| tú | necesitasteyou needed |
| él/ella/usted | necesitóhe/she needed |
| nosotros/as | necesitamoswe needed |
| vosotros/as | necesitasteisyou all needed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | necesitaronthey needed |
Imperfect indicative
| yo | necesitabaI used to need |
|---|---|
| tú | necesitabasyou used to need |
| él/ella/usted | necesitabahe/she used to need |
| nosotros/as | necesitábamoswe used to need |
| vosotros/as | necesitabaisyou all used to need |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | necesitabanthey used to need |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy necesitandoI am needing |
|---|---|
| tú | estás necesitandoyou are needing |
| él/ella/usted | está necesitandohe/she is needing |
| nosotros/as | estamos necesitandowe are needing |
| vosotros/as | estáis necesitandoyou all are needing |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están necesitandothey are needing |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a necesitarI am going to need |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a necesitaryou are going to need |
| él/ella/usted | va a necesitarhe/she is going to need |
| nosotros/as | vamos a necesitarwe are going to need |
| vosotros/as | vais a necesitaryou all are going to need |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a necesitarthey are going to need |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | necesitaréI will need |
|---|---|
| tú | necesitarásyou will need |
| él/ella/usted | necesitaráhe/she will need |
| nosotros/as | necesitaremoswe will need |
| vosotros/as | necesitaréisyou all will need |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | necesitaránthey will need |
Conditional indicative
| yo | necesitaríaI would need |
|---|---|
| tú | necesitaríasyou would need |
| él/ella/usted | necesitaríahe/she would need |
| nosotros/as | necesitaríamoswe would need |
| vosotros/as | necesitaríaisyou all would need |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | necesitaríanthey would need |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he necesitadoI have needed |
|---|---|
| tú | has necesitadoyou have needed |
| él/ella/usted | ha necesitadohe/she has needed |
| nosotros/as | hemos necesitadowe have needed |
| vosotros/as | habéis necesitadoyou all have needed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han necesitadothey have needed |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había necesitadoI had needed |
|---|---|
| tú | habías necesitadoyou had needed |
| él/ella/usted | había necesitadohe/she had needed |
| nosotros/as | habíamos necesitadowe had needed |
| vosotros/as | habíais necesitadoyou all had needed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían necesitadothey had needed |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré necesitadoI will have needed |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás necesitadoyou will have needed |
| él/ella/usted | habrá necesitadohe/she will have needed |
| nosotros/as | habremos necesitadowe will have needed |
| vosotros/as | habréis necesitadoyou all will have needed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán necesitadothey will have needed |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría necesitadoI would have needed |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías necesitadoyou would have needed |
| él/ella/usted | habría necesitadohe/she would have needed |
| nosotros/as | habríamos necesitadowe would have needed |
| vosotros/as | habríais necesitadoyou all would have needed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían necesitadothey would have needed |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of necesitar
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | necesite(that) I need |
|---|---|
| tú | necesites(that) you need |
| él/ella/usted | necesite(that) he/she needs |
| nosotros/as | necesitemos(that) we need |
| vosotros/as | necesitéis(that) you all need |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | necesiten(that) they need |
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | necesitara(if) I needed |
|---|---|
| tú | necesitaras(if) you needed |
| él/ella/usted | necesitara(if) he/she needed |
| nosotros/as | necesitáramos(if) we needed |
| vosotros/as | necesitarais(if) you all needed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | necesitaran(if) they needed |
Future subjunctive
| yo | necesitare(if) I need |
|---|---|
| tú | necesitares(if) you need |
| él/ella/usted | necesitare(if) he/she needs |
| nosotros/as | necesitáremos(if) we need |
| vosotros/as | necesitareis(if) you all need |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | necesitaren(if) they need |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya necesitado(that) I have needed |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas necesitado(that) you have needed |
| él/ella/usted | haya necesitado(that) he/she has needed |
| nosotros/as | hayamos necesitado(that) we have needed |
| vosotros/as | hayáis necesitado(that) you all have needed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan necesitado(that) they have needed |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera necesitado(if) I had needed |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras necesitado(if) you had needed |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera necesitado(if) he/she had needed |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos necesitado(if) we had needed |
| vosotros/as | hubierais necesitado(if) you all had needed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran necesitado(if) they had needed |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere necesitado(if) I will have needed |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres necesitado(if) you will have needed |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere necesitado(if) he/she will have needed |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos necesitado(if) we will have needed |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis necesitado(if) you all will have needed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren necesitado(if) they will have needed |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of necesitar
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | necesitaneed! |
|---|---|
| usted | necesiteneed! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | necesitemoslet's need! |
| vosotros/as | necesitadneed! (you all) |
| ustedes | necesitenneed! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no necesitesdon't need! |
|---|---|
| usted | no necesitedon't need! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no necesitemoslet's not need! |
| vosotros/as | no necesitéisdon't need! (you all) |
| ustedes | no necesitendon't need! (you all, formal) |
Practice necesitar
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and necesitar.
How to use necesitar
Necesito un café.
I need a coffee.
Necesito descansar.
I need to rest.
Necesito que me ayudes.
I need you to help me.
¿Necesita algo más?
Do you need anything else?
Se necesita camarero.
Waiter wanted.
Example sentences with necesitar
- ¿Necesitas ayuda?Do you need help?
- No necesito nada.I don't need anything.
- Necesitamos más tiempo.We need more time.
- Necesité tres intentos.I needed three tries.
- Necesitaba hablar contigo.I needed to talk to you.
- Necesitarás un abrigo.You'll need a coat.
- ¿Necesitarías algo?Would you need anything?
- Te he necesitado mucho.I've needed you a lot.
Verbs like necesitar
All regular -ar verbs: they follow exactly the same pattern as necesitar.
Frequently asked questions about necesitar
Is necesitar regular or irregular?
Necesitar is completely regular. It follows the normal -ar pattern in every tense.
How do you conjugate necesitar in the present tense?
necesito, necesitas, necesita, necesitamos, necesitáis, necesitan.
How do you say "I need you to…" in Spanish?
Necesito que + subjunctive: necesito que me llames (I need you to call me).
Necesitar or hacer falta?
Both mean "to need". Hacer falta works like gustar: me hace falta dinero (I need money).
Is it "necesitar de"?
Usually not: necesito tu ayuda. Necesitar de exists but sounds formal or literary.
What is the past participle of necesitar?
The past participle is necesitado and the gerund is necesitando.
Free cheat sheet
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