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Spanish verb conjugation

Necesitar conjugation

necesitar · to need

Regular verb-ar verbTop 100 verb

At a glance: Necesitar means "to need". It's a fully regular -ar verb. Use it with a noun (necesito un café) or an infinitive (necesito descansar). With que + subjunctive: necesito que me ayudes (I need you to help me).

Presentnecesito, necesitas, necesita, necesitamos, necesitáis, necesitan
Past participlenecesitado
Gerundnecesitando
necesitar conjugation chart in Spanish: present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional and present subjunctive
Necesitar conjugation chart. Letters in red are irregular.
Wes's tip

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.

Test yourselfHide all forms, try to say them out loud, then tap to check.

Indicative tenses of necesitar

Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.

Present indicative

yonecesitoI need
túnecesitasyou need
él/ella/ustednecesitahe/she needs
nosotros/asnecesitamoswe need
vosotros/asnecesitáisyou all need
ellos/ellas/ustedesnecesitanthey need

Necesito + noun or infinitive: necesito ayuda, necesito dormir.

Preterite indicative

yonecesitéI needed
túnecesitasteyou needed
él/ella/ustednecesitóhe/she needed
nosotros/asnecesitamoswe needed
vosotros/asnecesitasteisyou all needed
ellos/ellas/ustedesnecesitaronthey needed

Imperfect indicative

yonecesitabaI used to need
túnecesitabasyou used to need
él/ella/ustednecesitabahe/she used to need
nosotros/asnecesitábamoswe used to need
vosotros/asnecesitabaisyou all used to need
ellos/ellas/ustedesnecesitabanthey used to need

Present continuous indicative

yoestoy necesitandoI am needing
túestás necesitandoyou are needing
él/ella/ustedestá necesitandohe/she is needing
nosotros/asestamos necesitandowe are needing
vosotros/asestáis necesitandoyou all are needing
ellos/ellas/ustedesestán necesitandothey are needing

estar + gerund

Informal future indicative

yovoy a necesitarI am going to need
túvas a necesitaryou are going to need
él/ella/ustedva a necesitarhe/she is going to need
nosotros/asvamos a necesitarwe are going to need
vosotros/asvais a necesitaryou all are going to need
ellos/ellas/ustedesvan a necesitarthey are going to need

ir a + infinitive

Future indicative

yonecesitaréI will need
túnecesitarásyou will need
él/ella/ustednecesitaráhe/she will need
nosotros/asnecesitaremoswe will need
vosotros/asnecesitaréisyou all will need
ellos/ellas/ustedesnecesitaránthey will need

Conditional indicative

yonecesitaríaI would need
túnecesitaríasyou would need
él/ella/ustednecesitaríahe/she would need
nosotros/asnecesitaríamoswe would need
vosotros/asnecesitaríaisyou all would need
ellos/ellas/ustedesnecesitaríanthey would need

Present perfect indicative

yohe necesitadoI have needed
túhas necesitadoyou have needed
él/ella/ustedha necesitadohe/she has needed
nosotros/ashemos necesitadowe have needed
vosotros/ashabéis necesitadoyou all have needed
ellos/ellas/ustedeshan necesitadothey have needed

haber (present) + past participle

Past perfect indicative

yohabía necesitadoI had needed
túhabías necesitadoyou had needed
él/ella/ustedhabía necesitadohe/she had needed
nosotros/ashabíamos necesitadowe had needed
vosotros/ashabíais necesitadoyou all had needed
ellos/ellas/ustedeshabían necesitadothey had needed

haber (imperfect) + past participle

Future perfect indicative

yohabré necesitadoI will have needed
túhabrás necesitadoyou will have needed
él/ella/ustedhabrá necesitadohe/she will have needed
nosotros/ashabremos necesitadowe will have needed
vosotros/ashabréis necesitadoyou all will have needed
ellos/ellas/ustedeshabrán necesitadothey will have needed

haber (future) + past participle

Conditional perfect indicative

yohabría necesitadoI would have needed
túhabrías necesitadoyou would have needed
él/ella/ustedhabría necesitadohe/she would have needed
nosotros/ashabríamos necesitadowe would have needed
vosotros/ashabríais necesitadoyou all would have needed
ellos/ellas/ustedeshabrían necesitadothey would have needed

haber (conditional) + past participle

Subjunctive tenses of necesitar

Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.

Present subjunctive

yonecesite(that) I need
túnecesites(that) you need
él/ella/ustednecesite(that) he/she needs
nosotros/asnecesitemos(that) we need
vosotros/asnecesitéis(that) you all need
ellos/ellas/ustedesnecesiten(that) they need

Imperfect subjunctive

yonecesitara(if) I needed
túnecesitaras(if) you needed
él/ella/ustednecesitara(if) he/she needed
nosotros/asnecesitáramos(if) we needed
vosotros/asnecesitarais(if) you all needed
ellos/ellas/ustedesnecesitaran(if) they needed

Future subjunctive

yonecesitare(if) I need
túnecesitares(if) you need
él/ella/ustednecesitare(if) he/she needs
nosotros/asnecesitáremos(if) we need
vosotros/asnecesitareis(if) you all need
ellos/ellas/ustedesnecesitaren(if) they need

rarely used: legal & formal texts

Present perfect subjunctive

yohaya necesitado(that) I have needed
túhayas necesitado(that) you have needed
él/ella/ustedhaya necesitado(that) he/she has needed
nosotros/ashayamos necesitado(that) we have needed
vosotros/ashayáis necesitado(that) you all have needed
ellos/ellas/ustedeshayan necesitado(that) they have needed

haber (present subj.) + past participle

Past perfect subjunctive

yohubiera necesitado(if) I had needed
túhubieras necesitado(if) you had needed
él/ella/ustedhubiera necesitado(if) he/she had needed
nosotros/ashubiéramos necesitado(if) we had needed
vosotros/ashubierais necesitado(if) you all had needed
ellos/ellas/ustedeshubieran necesitado(if) they had needed

haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle

Future perfect subjunctive

yohubiere necesitado(if) I will have needed
túhubieres necesitado(if) you will have needed
él/ella/ustedhubiere necesitado(if) he/she will have needed
nosotros/ashubiéremos necesitado(if) we will have needed
vosotros/ashubiereis necesitado(if) you all will have needed
ellos/ellas/ustedeshubieren necesitado(if) they will have needed

rarely used: legal & formal texts

Imperative tenses of necesitar

Commands and instructions.

Affirmative imperative

túnecesitaneed!
ustednecesiteneed! (formal)
nosotros/asnecesitemoslet's need!
vosotros/asnecesitadneed! (you all)
ustedesnecesitenneed! (you all, formal)

Negative imperative

túno necesitesdon't need!
ustedno necesitedon't need! (formal)
nosotros/asno necesitemoslet's not need!
vosotros/asno necesitéisdon't need! (you all)
ustedesno necesitendon't need! (you all, formal)

Practice necesitar

Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and necesitar.

How to use necesitar

Needing something

Necesito un café.

I need a coffee.

Needing to do

Necesito descansar.

I need to rest.

Needing someone to (+ subjunctive)

Necesito que me ayudes.

I need you to help me.

Shops

¿Necesita algo más?

Do you need anything else?

Job ads

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

All 18 tenses of necesitar, on one page.

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