necesitas

Necesitas is the second-person singular present indicative form of the Spanish verb necesitar. It means you need and is used with tú, the informal singular “you.” The verb necesitar is regular in its -ar conjugation, so its other present forms follow the standard pattern: necesito, necesitas, necesita, necesitamos, necesitáis, necesitan. In Latin America, the plural you is ustedes, which uses necesitan in the present tense (instead of necesitáis and necesitan in Spain’s vosotr@s form).

Usage and meaning

Necesitas expresses a current necessity or obligation felt by the subject. It is commonly followed by a direct object, or by an infinitive or a prepositional phrase to specify what is needed. It can be used in affirmative statements, questions, and negative sentences.

Examples

- ¿Qué necesitas para la clase? (What do you need for class?)

- Necesitas ayuda con eso. (You need help with that.)

- No necesitas preocuparte. (You don’t need to worry.)

- Si necesitas algo, avísame. (If you need anything, let me know.)

- Tú necesitas estudiar más para aprobar. (You need to study more to pass.)

Notes

Necesitas is informal and addressed to someone you know well. For formal address, use usted necesita. For plural informal Spain, necesitaréis; for plural you in many regions, ustedes necesitan. As with many Spanish verbs, necesitar can be followed by an infinitive to describe a need to perform an action (necesitas comer, necesitas estudiar, etc.).