¡Hola! ¿Cómo estáis?

I hope very much that you are enjoying my Spanish video lessons and are starting to feel more confident with your Spanish. We are now up to lesson 20 in the beginner course and you have learned a great deal of the basics.

Today we will look at three new, very useful, verbs: to need (“necesitar”), to want (“querer”) and to prefer (“preferir”). I will explain how you should form each of the verbs and how you can use them to make sentences.

Necesitar: To need:

• (Yo) necesito: I need
• (Tú) necesitas: You need (friendly)
• (Usted) necesita: You need (formal)
• (Él/ella) necesita: He/she needs
• (Nosotros/as) necesitamos: We need
• (Vosotros/as) necesitáis: You need (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) necesitan: You (group) need (group/formal)
• (Ellos/as) necesitan: They need

For example:

• Necesito un taxi: I need a taxi
• Necesito + infinitivo: I need to…
• Necesito ir: I need to go
• No necesito ir: I don´t need to go
• ¿Necesitas algo?: Do you need anything?

Querer: To want:

• (Yo) quiero: I want
• (Tú) quieres: You want (friendly)
• (Usted) quiere: You want (formal)
• (Él/ella) quiere: He/she wants
• (Nosotros/as) queremos: We want
• (Vosotros/as) queréis: You want (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) quieren: You want (group/formal)
• (Ellos/as) quieren: They want

For example:

• Quiero un coche: I want a car
• Quiero + infinitivo: I want to…
• Quiero ir: I want to go
• No quiero ir: I don´t want to go
• ¿Quieres algo?: Do you want anything?

Preferir: To prefer:

• (Yo) prefiero: I prefer
• (Tú) prefieres: You prefer (friendly)
• (Usted) prefiere: You prefer (formal)
• (Él/ella) prefiere: He/she prefers
• (Nosotros/as) preferimos: We prefer
• (Vosotros/as) preferís: You prefer (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) prefieren: You prefer (group/formal)
• (Ellos/as) prefieren: They prefer

For example:

• Prefiero el pescado: I prefer fish
• Prefiero + infinitivo: I prefer to…
• Prefiero ir: I prefer to go
• No Prefiero ir: I don´t prefer to go
• ¿Prefieres este coche?: Do you prefer this car?

This is all for today’s lesson. “Necesitar”, “Querer” and “Preferir” are verbs that we use a lot in everyday conversation, so try to practice making different sentences with them as this will help you to memorise them better. Remember also not to change the second verb when you make sentences like “Quiero hablar español” (I want to speak Spanish). Never say “Quiero hablo” as you would be saying “I want I speak”. This is a common mistake that students make at this stage.

Have a great week, enjoy your Spanish studies and see you in our next lesson.

¡Hasta luego!