Learn Spanish (Latin America): Necesito este diccionario para la clase de español. - I need this dictionary for the Spanish class.

Necesito este diccionario para la clase de español.

I need this dictionary for the Spanish class.

Breakdown of Necesito este diccionario para la clase de español.

Questions & Answers about Necesito este diccionario para la clase de español.

Why is it este diccionario and not esto diccionario?

Diccionario is a masculine, singular noun. To say "this dictionary", you must use the masculine adjective este. A very common mistake is trying to use esto, but esto is a neutral word used only for general situations, concepts, or unknown objects (like asking "What is this?"). You never put esto right next to a noun.

Why does the sentence start with Necesito instead of Yo necesito?

In Spanish, the -o ending on the verb necesito already tells us that "I" am the one doing the action. Because it's obvious who is needing the dictionary, the pronoun yo (I) can be dropped, which is how native speakers usually talk.

Why do we use para instead of por for the word "for"?

Para is used here because it shows the purpose or intended use of the dictionary. You need it specifically for the Spanish class. (You will learn more about por later, but it is generally used for causes or exchanges rather than purposes).

Why is it la clase de español instead of la español clase?