Needs, abilities, and preferences
Express a need, a wish, a possibility, or a simple preference.
What you’ll work on
- Use necesito and quiero with a noun or infinitive.
- Use puedo with an infinitive.
- Distinguish me gusta and me gustan.
A short conversation
Google voice when available; device voice as a fallback. Read along, then try each line aloud.
¿Qué quieres hacer hoy?
What do you want to do today?
Quiero visitar el museo, pero necesito comprar un billete.
I want to visit the museum, but I need to buy a ticket.
Puedes comprarlo aquí. ¿Te gusta el arte?
You can buy it here. Do you like art?
Sí, me gusta el arte y me gustan los museos.
Yes, I like art and I like museums.
Needs and wishes
Necesito means I need and quiero means I want. Follow either with a noun for a thing: necesito un billete. Follow either with an infinitive for an action: quiero visitar el museo. The second verb stays in its dictionary form.
Necesitar is regular in the present tense: necesitas, necesita. Querer changes its stem in several forms: quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren. Begin by mastering quiero plus one action and necesito plus one practical item.
Ask what is possible
Puedo means I can and is followed by an infinitive: puedo pagar, puedo ir. Use ¿Puedo…? to ask permission or whether something is possible. No puedo says you cannot do something. Keep the negative no before the conjugated verb.
The dialogue includes puedes comprarlo: you can buy it. The small lo refers back to el billete. You may understand this phrase without using object pronouns independently yet; puedes comprar un billete repeats the noun and is perfectly useful beginner Spanish.
Express preferences with gustar
Me gusta works with one thing or an infinitive: me gusta el café; me gusta caminar. Use me gustan with plural things: me gustan los museos. The thing liked determines whether the verb is singular or plural.
To ask someone informally, use ¿Te gusta…? or ¿Te gustan…? Keep the article when speaking generally about a category, as in el arte or los museos. For now, learn these practical patterns rather than forcing English I like word order onto Spanish.
Lesson vocabulary
Listen once, say it aloud, and try to recall the Spanish before looking.
| Spanish | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| necesito | I need | |
| quiero | I want | |
| puedo | I can | |
| la ayuda | help | |
| el billete | the ticket | |
| el arte | art | |
| caminar | to walk | |
| leer | to read |
Practice questions
Try every question, then check your answers. Capital letters and punctuation do not affect your score. Accents and ñ do matter.
Showing an answer makes that question a practice item worth zero for this attempt. Retry with the answers hidden when you’re ready. If audio cannot play, use Show answer / text to practice by reading.
Independent practice
These are independent practice tasks. The site does not record your voice, save your writing, or grade open-ended answers. Ask a teacher or conversation partner for feedback when you can.
Speaking practice
Say one thing you need, one thing you want to do, one thing you can do, and two things you like.
Writing practice
Write a short message proposing an activity and explaining one need. Include me gusta or me gustan.
Review the lesson objectives
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