Мне срочно нужно сделать паузу.

I urgently need to take a pause.

Breakdown of Мне срочно нужно сделать паузу.

• я: I
• нужный: necessary
• срочно: urgently
• сделать паузу: to take a pause

Questions & Answers about Мне срочно нужно сделать паузу.

Why is мне in the dative case instead of a nominative subject?

In Russian, constructions with нужно (and надо) are impersonal. There is no grammatical subject performing the action. Instead, the person who “needs” something is marked in the dative. So мне literally means “to me” it is necessary.

What part of speech is нужно, and how does it work with the infinitive?

Нужно is a predicative (a short-form adjective used as an impersonal modal expression). It expresses necessity and is always followed by an infinitive (here, сделать). It doesn’t agree with gender or number. You can think of it as “it is necessary to…”

What does срочно mean, and can I move it in the sentence?

Срочно means “urgently.” As an adverb, it has flexible word order. You can say:
• Мне срочно нужно сделать паузу.
• Срочно мне нужно сделать паузу.
• Мне нужно срочно сделать паузу.
Each version shifts the emphasis slightly but keeps the same basic meaning.

Why is the verb сделать used instead of the imperfective делать?

Сделать is perfective, indicating a single, complete action (“to take a break once”). The imperfective делать would suggest a repeated or continuous action, which doesn’t fit here—taking one discrete pause is a one-off event.

Why is пауза in the accusative case (паузу)?

Because пауза is the direct object of the transitive verb сделать. Feminine nouns ending in -а take -у in the accusative singular, so пауза → паузу.

Can I replace мне нужно with мне надо, and is there any nuance?

Yes. Мне надо сделать паузу means essentially the same thing. Надо is more colloquial, while нужно is slightly more neutral or formal. Both require the dative case and an infinitive.

Why isn’t there an explicit subject like я in this sentence?

Because the sentence is impersonal. The dative мне already tells you who feels the necessity. Adding я (e.g. Я мне нужно…) would be redundant and ungrammatical. If you really want a subject, you’d switch to a different construction, for example: Я срочно должен сделать паузу.

Are there alternative ways to say “take a break” in Russian?

Yes, you could use перерыв:
• Мне нужно сделать перерыв.
Or a colloquial verb:
• Мне срочно надо передохнуть.
Each option has slightly different nuances but all convey the idea of pausing or resting briefly.