Nos faltan dos sillas para la terraza.

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Breakdown of Nos faltan dos sillas para la terraza.

• nosotros: we
• dos: two
• la silla: the chair

Questions & Answers about Nos faltan dos sillas para la terraza.

Why is it nos faltan and not necesitamos?

Because faltar and necesitar do not work the same way.

• Necesitamos dos sillas = We need two chairs
• Nos faltan dos sillas = literally, Two chairs are missing to us

So in Spanish, faltar often expresses the idea of lacking something rather than directly needing it. It is a very common way to say that you are short of something.

This sentence sounds a bit like:

• We’re two chairs short for the terrace
• We still need two chairs for the terrace

Why is it faltan and not falta?

Because the verb agrees with dos sillas, which is plural.

In this structure, the thing that is lacking is the grammatical subject:

• Falta una silla = One chair is missing
• Faltan dos sillas = Two chairs are missing

So:

• dos sillas = plural
• therefore faltan = plural verb

What does nos mean here?