What does necesitar mean in English?

Necesitar means "to need" in English.

How do you conjugate necesitar in Spanish?

Necesitar is conjugated across all Spanish tenses including present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and more. Each tense has specific conjugations for yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ustedes. You can see complete conjugation tables with audio pronunciations on this page.

What should I know about using necesitar?

Necesitar is a regular -ar verb

How do you use necesitar in a sentence?

Example: "Necesité ayuda." which means "I needed help." in English.

What are synonyms for necesitar?

Spanish synonyms for necesitar include: requerir. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Necesitar

to need

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

necesitar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

necesitando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

necesitado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	necesito I need	I need
tú	necesitas you need	you need
él/ella/usted	necesita he/she/you needs	he/she/you needs
nosotros	necesitamos we need	we need
vosotros	necesitáis you all need	you all need
ellos/ustedes	necesitan they/you all need	they/you all need

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	necesitaba I used to need	I used to need
tú	necesitabas you used to need	you used to need
él/ella/usted	necesitaba he/she/you used to need	he/she/you used to need
nosotros	necesitábamos we used to need	we used to need
vosotros	necesitabais you all used to need	you all used to need
ellos/ustedes	necesitaban they/you all used to need	they/you all used to need

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	necesité I needed	I needed
tú	necesitaste you needed	you needed
él/ella/usted	necesitó he/she/you needed	he/she/you needed
nosotros	necesitamos we needed	we needed
vosotros	necesitasteis you all needed	you all needed
ellos/ustedes	necesitaron they/you all needed	they/you all needed

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	necesitaré I will need	I will need
tú	necesitarás you will need	you will need
él/ella/usted	necesitará he/she/you will need	he/she/you will need
nosotros	necesitaremos we will need	we will need
vosotros	necesitaréis you all will need	you all will need
ellos/ustedes	necesitarán they/you all will need	they/you all will need

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	necesitaría I would need	I would need
tú	necesitarías you would need	you would need
él/ella/usted	necesitaría he/she/you would need	he/she/you would need
nosotros	necesitaríamos we would need	we would need
vosotros	necesitaríais you all would need	you all would need
ellos/ustedes	necesitarían they/you all would need	they/you all would need

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	necesite that I need	that I need
tú	necesites that you need	that you need
él/ella/usted	necesite that he/she/you need	that he/she/you need
nosotros	necesitemos that we need	that we need
vosotros	necesitéis that you all need	that you all need
ellos/ustedes	necesiten that they/you all need	that they/you all need

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	necesitara or necesitase that I needed	that I needed
tú	necesitaras or necesitases that you needed	that you needed
él/ella/usted	necesitara or necesitase that he/she/you needed	that he/she/you needed
nosotros	necesitáramos or necesitásemos that we needed	that we needed
vosotros	necesitarais or necesitaseis that you all needed	that you all needed
ellos/ustedes	necesitaran or necesitasen that they/you all needed	that they/you all needed

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	he necesitado I have needed	I have needed
tú	has necesitado you have needed	you have needed
él/ella/usted	ha necesitado he/she/you have needed	he/she/you have needed
nosotros	hemos necesitado we have needed	we have needed
vosotros	habéis necesitado you all have needed	you all have needed
ellos/ustedes	han necesitado they/you all have needed	they/you all have needed

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	había necesitado I had needed	I had needed
tú	habías necesitado you had needed	you had needed
él/ella/usted	había necesitado he/she/you had needed	he/she/you had needed
nosotros	habíamos necesitado we had needed	we had needed
vosotros	habíais necesitado you all had needed	you all had needed
ellos/ustedes	habían necesitado they/you all had needed	they/you all had needed

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hube necesitado I had needed	I had needed
tú	hubiste necesitado you had needed	you had needed
él/ella/usted	hubo necesitado he/she/you had needed	he/she/you had needed
nosotros	hubimos necesitado we had needed	we had needed
vosotros	hubisteis necesitado you all had needed	you all had needed
ellos/ustedes	hubieron necesitado they/you all had needed	they/you all had needed

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habré necesitado I will have needed	I will have needed
tú	habrás necesitado you will have needed	you will have needed
él/ella/usted	habrá necesitado he/she/you will have needed	he/she/you will have needed
nosotros	habremos necesitado we will have needed	we will have needed
vosotros	habréis necesitado you all will have needed	you all will have needed
ellos/ustedes	habrán necesitado they/you all will have needed	they/you all will have needed

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habría necesitado I would have needed	I would have needed
tú	habrías necesitado you would have needed	you would have needed
él/ella/usted	habría necesitado he/she/you would have needed	he/she/you would have needed
nosotros	habríamos necesitado we would have needed	we would have needed
vosotros	habríais necesitado you all would have needed	you all would have needed
ellos/ustedes	habrían necesitado they/you all would have needed	they/you all would have needed

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	haya necesitado that I have needed	that I have needed
tú	hayas necesitado that you have needed	that you have needed
él/ella/usted	haya necesitado that he/she/you have needed	that he/she/you have needed
nosotros	hayamos necesitado that we have needed	that we have needed
vosotros	hayáis necesitado that you all have needed	that you all have needed
ellos/ustedes	hayan necesitado that they/you all have needed	that they/you all have needed

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hubiera necesitado that I had needed	that I had needed
tú	hubieras necesitado that you had needed	that you had needed
él/ella/usted	hubiera necesitado that he/she/you had needed	that he/she/you had needed
nosotros	hubiéramos necesitado that we had needed	that we had needed
vosotros	hubierais necesitado that you all had needed	that you all had needed
ellos/ustedes	hubieran necesitado that they/you all had needed	that they/you all had needed

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	necesita	need! (you)
usted	necesite	need! (you formal)
nosotros	necesitemos	let's need!
vosotros	necesitad	need! (you all)
ustedes	necesiten	need! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no necesites	don't need! (you)
usted	no necesite	don't need! (you formal)
nosotros	no necesitemos	let's not need!
vosotros	no necesitéis	don't need! (you all)
ustedes	no necesiten	don't need! (you all)

More About "necesitar"

Examples in Context

Necesité ayuda.

I needed help.

Preterite

Necesito más tiempo.

I need more time.

Present

He necesitado descansar.

I have needed to rest.

Present Perfect

Necesitaremos un carro.

We will need a car.

Future

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

requerir(to require)

More formal

Usage Notes

•Necesitar is a regular -ar verb
•Main meaning: to need
•Often followed by infinitive or noun
•Related noun: la necesidad (need)

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