What to put after necesitar?

Question

a) Soy Enrique y necesito trabajo. b) Pero necesito trabajar para pagar los estudios.

Why in the b) sentence it is "necesito trabajar" instead of "necesito trabajo" like sentence a)?

Thanks a lot for you kindly help.

Bienvenido al foro - SpanishPal, Jul 31, 2011

Answer 1

Necesito (un) trabajo = I need a job (noun)

Necesito trabajar = I need to work (infinitive)

Thank you! The way you put it is very really easy to understand. :) - ellaeskate, Jul 31, 2011

You're welcome :) - SpanishPal, Jul 31, 2011

Can i say "Necesito trabajo para pagar los estudios." then? - ellaeskate, Aug 1, 2011

Answer 2

Necesitar needs a direct object, which should be a noun (e.g. trabajo) or something equivalent, like an infinitive phrase (e.g. "trabajar para pagar los estudios"). Infinitives in Spanish behave like nouns, so you can use either.

oh, I mistook it as a verb of the yo form! Thank you, it's really helpful! - ellaeskate, Jul 31, 2011