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SPANISH VERB

hacer falta

to be needed

  • #226 most used
  • Irregular -er verb
  • Gerund: haciendo falta
  • Past participle: hecho falta

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I am needed
  2. tú you are needed
  3. usted, él, ella he/she is needed
  4. nosotros we are needed
  5. vosotros Spain you all are needed
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they are needed

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I was needed
  2. tú you were needed
  3. usted, él, ella he/she was needed
  4. nosotros we were needed
  5. vosotros Spain you all were needed
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they were needed

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to be needed
  2. tú you used to be needed
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to be needed
  4. nosotros we used to be needed
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to be needed
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to be needed

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will be needed
  2. tú you will be needed
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will be needed
  4. nosotros we will be needed
  5. vosotros Spain you all will be needed
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will be needed

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would be needed
  2. tú you would be needed
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would be needed
  4. nosotros we would be needed
  5. vosotros Spain you all would be needed
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would be needed

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I be needed
  2. tú (that) you be needed
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she be needed
  4. nosotros (that) we be needed
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all be needed
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they be needed

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I were needed
  2. tú (if) you were needed
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she were needed
  4. nosotros (if) we were needed
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all were needed
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they were needed

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú be needed!
  2. usted be needed! (formal)
  3. nosotros be needed! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain be needed! (all of you)
  5. ustedes be needed! (all of you)

How to use hacer falta

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    ¿Hace falta reservar mesa para esta noche?

    Do we need to book a table for tonight?

  2. Past

    Al final no hizo falta llamar al fontanero.

    In the end there was no need to call the plumber.

  3. Imperfect

    Antes hacía falta pasaporte para ir a Portugal.

    You used to need a passport to go to Portugal.

  4. Future

    Para la mudanza harán falta tres coches.

    For the move we'll need three cars.

  5. Conditional

    Me haría falta otra semana de vacaciones.

    I could do with another week of holiday.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No creo que haga falta abrigo hoy.

    I don't think a coat is needed today.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Compré pan de más por si hiciera falta.

    I bought extra bread in case it was needed.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Haz falta, que así te valorarán más en el trabajo!

    Make yourself needed, that way they'll value you more at work!

Good to know

  • "Hacer falta" works like "gustar": me hace falta tiempo, I need time; "no hace falta" is "there's no need".

Where you hear hacer falta

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 3

  • Hace falta una mesa más. We need one more table.
  • No hizo falta leer los votos. There was no need to read the vows.
  • Mañana va a hacer falta mucho café. Tomorrow we're going to need a lot of coffee.

Spanish · Advanced Level 1

  • Para la tarjeta, hace falta una foto. For the card, a photo is needed.
  • Nadie me dijo que hacía falta el empadronamiento. Nobody told me the registration was needed.
  • Mañana va a hacer falta el paraguas. Tomorrow you're going to need the umbrella.
8
I Wanted Everything to Be Perfect

Intermediate Level 3 · no hace falta

Needs a subscription 23
What's Needed Is

Intermediate Level 3 · lo que no hace falta

Needs a subscription 3
Welcome to Spain

Advanced Level 1 · hacía falta · hace falta

Needs a subscription 17
Just in Case

Advanced Level 3 · haga falta · no vaya a ser que haga falta

Needs a subscription 20
The Other Side of the Pond

Advanced Level 3 · lo que haga falta

Needs a subscription 26
Do You Take

Advanced Level 3 · eso no hace falta

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -er verb.