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