Ho bisogno di una risposta immediata.

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Breakdown of Ho bisogno di una risposta immediata.

• avere bisogno di: to need
• la risposta: the answer
• immediato: immediate

Questions & Answers about Ho bisogno di una risposta immediata.

Why does the sentence start with Ho? Doesn’t that literally mean I have?

Yes. Ho is the 1st person singular of avere (to have), so it literally means I have.

In Italian, the idea of to need is often expressed with the structure:

avere bisogno di = to need
Literally: to have need of

So:

• Ho bisogno di una risposta immediata
  = literally I have need of an immediate answer = natural English I need an immediate answer

This is a very common and normal way to say I need in Italian.

What exactly does bisogno mean?

Bisogno is a noun, not a verb. It means need.

So in this sentence:

• Ho = I have
• bisogno = need

Together, ho bisogno means I need or more literally I have need.

You will often see it in expressions like:

• Ho bisogno di aiuto = I need help
• Abbiamo bisogno di tempo = We need time
• Hai bisogno di qualcosa? = Do you need something?

Why is there a di after bisogno?