Today’s lesson explains the expression avoir besoin, which means “to need”. The modern French word besoin (need, requirement) comes from bisunni in Old Frankish, a Germanic language.
avoir besoin
to need
Pronunciation: [avwaʀ bəzwɛ̃]
Avoir besoin
Avoir besoin de + noun
In the following example sentence, avoir besoin de is followed by a noun. Notice that de becomes d’, when preceding nouns starting with vowels.
J’ai besoin d’un café.
I need a coffee.
Avoir besoin de + infinitive + noun
In these example sentences, avoir besoin de is followed by an infinitive and a noun.
J’ai besoin de boire un café.
I need to drink a coffee.
Avoir besoin + infintive
Avoir besoin can also be followed by just an infinitive and no noun.
You need to sleep.
Note that it is very common for beginners to forget to put the de after besoin. For example:
Vous avez besoin de dormir. (correct).
Vous avez besoin dormir (wrong).
Avoir besoin in different tenses
The following two example sentences show how to use avoir besoin de in the futur proche and futur simple, the two main future tenses in French.
Tu vas avoir besoin de manger. You’re going to need to eat.
Tu auras besoin de manger. You’re going to need to eat.
In the passé composé, this same sentence looks like this:
Tu as eu besoin de manger.
You needed to eat.
This sentence can also be written using the imperfect tense:
Tu avais besoin de manger.
You needed to eat.
Besoin as a noun
Besoin is a noun and does not necessarily have to used in the expression avoir besoin de.
La famille est dans le besoin.
The family is needy (poor).
Avoir besoin vs. devoir
While avoir besoin de translates to need, the verb devoir translates to “must” or “to have to”. They can be used interchangeably when making sentences.
Je dois travailler.
I must (have to) work.
Related lessons
References:
Word of the Day archive | Lessons by David Issokson
