Avoir besoin de in different tenses

shirqille t.B2Kwiziq community member

Avoir besoin de in different tenses

I assume that the avoir aspect of the sentence also changes with tense for example: 

 

Imparfaite =J'avais besoin de= I have needed 

Future= J'aurai besoin de= I will need 

Passe compose= J'ai eu besoin de= I needed 

Plus-que-Parfaite= J'avais eu besoin de= I have had needed

etc. 

 

Is this correct? 

Asked 1 year ago
CélineNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour Shirqille,

Well done! ;-). 

Remember:

Imparfaite -> L'Imparfait 

Plus-que-Parfaite -> Le Plus-que-Parfait

L'Imparfait = J'avais besoin deI (have) needed

Le Plus-que-Parfait = J'avais eu besoin de I (have) had needed 

 

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Salut Shirqille,

The following link may help you.

Devoir vs Avoir besoin de to express "to need to" in French

Given that "avoir besoin de" is a fixed expression, I do not believe that we can conjugate avoir in the way you suggest.

In the cases that you propose, I suspect that devoir would need to be used and conjugated accordingly.

I'm not 100% sure about this point so will be interested to read other users' comments.

Bonne continuation.

Jim

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Yes, you're correct!

Avoir besoin de in different tenses

I assume that the avoir aspect of the sentence also changes with tense for example: 

 

Imparfaite =J'avais besoin de= I have needed 

Future= J'aurai besoin de= I will need 

Passe compose= J'ai eu besoin de= I needed 

Plus-que-Parfaite= J'avais eu besoin de= I have had needed

etc. 

 

Is this correct? 

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Clever stuff happening!