Learn Spanish (Latin America): Tú necesitas un teléfono.

Tú necesitas un teléfono.

You need a phone.

Breakdown of Tú necesitas un teléfono.

tú

you (informal singular)

Questions & Answers about Tú necesitas un teléfono.

Why do we use un here instead of uno or una?

The word teléfono is a masculine noun. To say "a" or "an" in Spanish, we use un for masculine words and una for feminine words. You might also know the number one (uno), but we always drop the "o" when it comes right before a masculine noun.

Do I have to include the word tú, or can I just say necesitas un teléfono?

You can absolutely just say necesitas un teléfono. Because the verb ending in necesitas already means "you need", the word tú is optional. Spanish speakers often leave it out unless they want to add extra emphasis.

Why does tú have an accent mark over the u?

The accent mark shows the difference between two words that sound exactly the same. The word tú (with the accent) means the person "you", while tu (without the accent) means "your" (as in "your phone").

What is the accent mark on teléfono for?

It tells you exactly where to put the spoken stress when saying the word out loud. You pronounce it te-LE-fo-no. Without that written accent mark, the standard rules of Spanish pronunciation would make you stress a different part of the word.