How French works
Beginner Unit 14:

Saying you need something

Key points

  • To say you need something you can use avoir besoin de:
       J'ai besoin d'une fourchette - I need a fork
  • Or you can use il faut:
       Il faut un billet - You need a ticket

There is no exact equivalent of the English verb to need in French. Generally the French use one of two expressions to express the idea of needing. One is the expression avoir besoin de:

J'ai besoin d'une fourchette

I need a fork

Tu n’as pas besoin de sortir

You don’t need to leave

Elle a besoin de dormir

She needs to sleep

Another way of expressing to need is using il faut. This is called an impersonal verb because it doesn’t have a form for I, you, he etc.

Il faut un billet pour entrer

A ticket is needed to get in

It is most often translated using a personal pronoun in English

Il faut arriver avant deux heures

You / We need to get there before two o'clock

Note

Because il faut is impersonal, you cannot say je faus, tu faus, elle faut, etc.

You can make il faut mean I need, you need etc. by using il faut with a pronoun such as me or te:

Il te faut un billet pour entrer

You need a ticket to get in

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How French Works was written and coded by Chris Dawson.