Necesito imprimir el documento hoy.

I

Breakdown of Necesito imprimir el documento hoy.

• hoy: today
• necesitar: to need
• el documento: the document

Questions & Answers about Necesito imprimir el documento hoy.

Why is imprimir in the infinitive? In English we say “I need to print” — where is the “to” in Spanish?

In Spanish, many verbs are followed directly by an infinitive without any extra word.

Necesitar + infinitive is one of these patterns:

• Necesito imprimir. = I need to print.
• Necesito comer. = I need to eat.

Spanish doesn’t use a separate word like “to” before the infinitive; the idea of “to” is already built into the infinitive form (imprimir, comer, hablar, etc.).

---

Why is there no yo? Shouldn’t it be Yo necesito imprimir el documento hoy?

Spanish usually drops the subject pronoun (like yo) because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Necesito = I need
• Necesitas = you need
• Necesita = he/she/it/you (formal) need(s)

So Necesito imprimir el documento hoy is the normal, natural way to say it.
You only add yo for emphasis or contrast, e.g. Yo necesito imprimir el documento (pero tú no).

---

Why is it el documento and not just documento without el, or un documento?