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Conjugation Chart

“Necesitar” (to need) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Necesitar”

The preterite of necesitar is used to express a specific instance of needing something in the past. For example, you might say “I needed your help yesterday,” focusing on the need at a particular moment rather than an ongoing situation.

This is a regular -ar verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. Its conjugations are formed by adding the regular preterite endings to the stem ‘necesit-‘.

How to Use Necesitar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The preterite of necesitar expresses a completed need in the past. Basic Need: Used to express a specific instance of needing something in the past, for example, Necesité tu ayuda ayer (I needed your help yesterday). Requirement: Indicates a one-time requirement or necessity that occurred, for example, necesitó más tiempo para terminar (he/she needed more time to finish). Urgency: Can express an urgent need that arose at a specific moment, for example, necesitaron salir inmediatamente (they needed to leave immediately).

Real Life Examples of Necesitar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Necesité ayuda con la mudanza. (I needed help with the move.)

¿Necesitaste más tiempo para terminar? (Did you need more time to finish?)

El proyecto necesitó más recursos. (The project needed more resources.)

Necesitamos un taxi urgentemente. (We needed a taxi urgently.)

Los estudiantes necesitaron más práctica. (The students needed more practice.)

Necesité varios días para recuperarme. (I needed several days to recover.)

¿Por qué necesitaste tanto dinero? (Why did you need so much money?)

La empresa necesitó contratar más personal. (The company needed to hire more staff.)

Necesitamos cancelar la reunión. (We needed to cancel the meeting.)

Los atletas necesitaron más entrenamiento. (The athletes needed more training.)

Necesité un préstamo del banco. (I needed a loan from the bank.)

El coche necesitó reparaciones costosas. (The car needed expensive repairs.)

Necesitamos encontrar una solución rápida. (We needed to find a quick solution.)

Los científicos necesitaron más datos. (The scientists needed more data.)

Mi hermano necesitó un nuevo trabajo. (My brother needed a new job.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Necesitar (to need) in the Preterite (Past) Tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.