Me hace falta (lo)?

Question

Dear all, i wanted to say 'I need it'.

I can of course say 'lo necesito' but if i want to use 'hacer falta', how do i do it?

Just 'me hace falta' will do? Or can i add an objective pronoun 'lo' and say 'me hace falta lo'?

Muchas Gracias.

Please give context, it will depend on what it is you need. It actually means you're lacking something, but without knowing what it is impossible to replace it with a pronoun. - annierats, Feb 18, 2016

And please give your language levels , very important to us both. - ray76, Feb 19, 2016

Answer 1

With faltar the thing lacking is the subject, not an object, and hacer falta works the same:

Me hace falta algo or algo me hace falta- something is lacking for me- so I need something.

So lo would not work as it is an object pronoun, and the think lacking is the subject of the verb. I could write a sentence with a subject pronoun in place of algo, but they are usually dropped and it seems unnatural.

To use lo, you would have to use lo que- but then it is not acting as an object pronoun.

Lo que me hace falta es… That which is needed for me is (that that I need is)….

Hopefully this helps.

Look at this sentence from our dictionary:

me haces mucha falta---I really need you.

There you can see "haces" is conjugated to tú- you really is the subject.

To change you to someone else:

Pedro me hace mucha falta. Me hace mucha falta Pedro.

Él me hace mucha falta (or me hace mucha falta él).

You would not use lo for him (nor le)- he is the subject. But since you are using a pronoun, the referent is already known and so unless you needed to emphasize it you would normally just drop it: Me hace mucha falta.

As always, I appreciate your answers :) Thank you. - AndréYuhai, Feb 18, 2016

In many cases, it is the people like yourself, who read the answers to other people's answers, that I am writing for, rather than the people who asked the question. :) - bosquederoble, Feb 18, 2016

Thanks Bosque, great explanation! - annierats, Feb 18, 2016

Very clear explanation! Thank you! I see that it is the same way with 'gustar'. Since 'me gusta' literally means 'it pleases me', so can 'me hace falta' literally mean 'it makes me miss/lacking'? - Mercent, Feb 19, 2016

I makes a lacking for me. As in it creates a (sensation of loss/missing) in/to/for me. :) - bosquederoble, Feb 19, 2016

Answer 2

An easier way is to use "necesitar"

¿Dinero? Sí que lo necesito. Money? Yes I need it.

If the thing you need is feminine gender then use "la" "La necesito."

When you use "faltar," as Bosque said, the thing that you need is becomes the subject of the sentence.