Expressing Need
Kell & The Conjugated Infinitive
In English, to express that we need something,
The verb kell, is the verb for it is needed/required. The verb is intransitive, meaning that there is only indefinite conjugation. When something is required, or someone needs something we use kell.
It is a verb all on its own, but when used for expressing need only the third person is used. Click here to see the full conjugation.
| Pronoun | Past indef. | Present indef. | Present indef. cond. |
|---|---|---|---|
| ő | kellett | kell | kellene |
| ők | kellettek | kellenek | kellenének |
Note: Remember that the past conditional is formed by just adding volna to the past tense.
To express that you need something, just use kell. If you need to emphasise the person/thing use the dative case.
- Kell egy autó. - (I need a car.)
- Hány tojás kell a süteménybe? - (How many eggs are needed for the cake?)
- Bármit teszel, az nekem is kell. - (Lyric: Whatever you do, I need to do as well.)
- Kell még egy szó. - (Lyric: I need one more word.)
- Új ruhák kellenek. - (I need new clothes.)
To stress that the person/object needs to do something, then you can conjugate the infinitive.
Remember the infinitive? It’s the -ni ending, and this can be personalised using different types of conjugations (hence the name).
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| én | -nem/-enem/-nom/-anom/-nöm |
| te | -ned/-ened/-nod/-anod/-nöd |
| ő | -nia/-ania/-nie/-enie |
| mi | -nunk/-anunk/-nünk/-enünk |
| ti | -enetek/-anotok |
| ők | -niuk/-niük |
- Aludnom kell. - (I need to sleep.)
- El kell indulnunk a napnyugta előtt. - (We need to leave before sunset.)
- Holnap este főznöm kell. - (I have to cook tomorrow evening.)
- Először be kell fejeznem ezeket a házi feladatokat, aztán mehetünk. - (I need to do these exercises first, after that we can go.)
Challenge!
Ki kell jönnöd a vízből! (Original image, merging free images together)
You need to come out of the water!
Listening
The kapitány and the közlegény are talking, try to work out what they are saying! Taken from Madagascar (film).
Expressing Should
If you want to express “should”, rather than “have/need to” then use the conditional of kell, kellene or kéne as a short slang.
- Most már azt kéne csinálnom. - (I should be doing that right now.)
- Mit kellene mondanam? - (What should I say?)
- Óvatosabban kellett volna lennem. - (I should have been more careful.)
Muszáj
Another and less used way to express need is to use muszáj which basically translates to must, again this is used for things that have to be done. Just like how must isn’t used a lot in English, muszáj isn’t used that much either. You may see it in literature or occasionally hear it in speech.
- De muszáj megvalljam, én még nem láttam. - (I must confess, I haven’t seen it before.)
- Muszáj ezt megcsinálni? - (Does this have to be done?)
- Muszáj maradnunk. - (We must stay.)
- Muszáj megmutatnod nekem. - (You must show it to me.)
Challenge!
Muszáj elpusztítanod a gyűrűt, hogy megmentse a világot. (Free image by NidoArt, fetched from Wikimedia Commons)
You must destroy the ring to save the world.
Szükség
You could also use szükség as a more formal way of needing something. The format (which is subject to word order) is outlined below:
szükség[possession ending] van [something]-(ra/re)
- Nagy szüksége van vigasztalásra. - (He really needs comforting.)
- A Kapitánynak elemzésre van szüksége. - (The Captain needs an analysis.)
- Szedd össze, amire utazásodhoz szükséged van. - (Gather what you need for your journey.)
Szükségem van a ruhádra, a csizmádra és a motorodra. - Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Terminator 2 (Free image by OpenClipart-Vectors, fetched from pixabay.com)
I need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle.
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