Learn Spanish (Latin America): ¿Dónde está la escoba? Necesito usarla.

¿Dónde está la escoba? Necesito usarla.

Where is the broom? I need to use it.

Breakdown of ¿Dónde está la escoba? Necesito usarla.

necesitar

to need

estar

to be (location/state)

Questions & Answers about ¿Dónde está la escoba? Necesito usarla.

Why is la attached to the end of usar to make usarla?

When a sentence has a conjugated verb (necesito) followed directly by an infinitive verb (usar), you have the option to attach the object pronoun directly to the end of that infinitive. That is why it becomes one word: usarla.

Is it also correct to say La necesito usar instead of Necesito usarla?

Yes, both are perfectly correct and mean the exact same thing! When you have a conjugated verb combined with an infinitive, you can either attach the pronoun to the end of the infinitive (Necesito usarla) or place it right before the conjugated verb (La necesito usar).

Why does "it" translate to la in this sentence?

In Spanish, the word for "it" must match the gender of the noun it replaces. Since it refers to la escoba (the broom), which is feminine, you must use the feminine pronoun la. If you were replacing a masculine noun like el jabón (the soap), you would use lo to say Necesito usarlo.

Why do we use está to ask where the broom is?