ми треба

Needing Something

Level 2Sounds Like mi treba

Ми треба помош. means I need help, literally help is needed to me. Plural things take требаат: Ми требаат пари.

How It Works

Macedonian has no separate verb for need with a noun. It uses треба (is needed) with a to-someone pronoun:

  • Ми треба помош. — I need help.
  • Ти треба чадор. — You need an umbrella.
  • Ни требаат билети. — We need tickets.

Agreement: the verb follows the thing needed: треба for one, требаат for several. The person is shown only by the pronoun: ми, ти, му, ѝ, ни, ви, им.

Negative and questions: Не ми треба ништо. · Што ви треба? · Ти требаат ли пари?

Naming the person: На Марко му треба нов телефон. The pronoun stays (see на + лице за индиректен објект).

Past: Ми требаше чадор. (I needed an umbrella.)

Do not mix it up with треба да: in може да; мора да; треба да, треба means should and never changes: Треба да учиш. The personal endings appear only in this "need" meaning, for example Ти требам? (Do you need me?).

Examples (6)

  1. Ми треба помош.

    I need help.

    Word by Word: To-me is-needed help.

  2. Ти требаат ли пари?

    Do you need money?

    Word by Word: To-you are-needed question money?

    Пари is plural in Macedonian, so the verb is требаат.

  3. На Марко му треба нов телефон.

    Marko needs a new phone.

    Word by Word: To Marko to-him is-needed new phone.

  4. Не ни треба ништо, благодарам.

    We don't need anything, thank you.

    Word by Word: Not to-us is-needed nothing, I-thank.

  5. Што ви треба?

    What do you need?

    Word by Word: What to-you is-needed?

  6. Ми требаше чадор вчера.

    I needed an umbrella yesterday.

    Word by Word: To-me was-needed umbrella yesterday.

Common Mistakes

  • Using треба with the person as the subject, as in English "I need".

    Јас требам помош.
    Ми треба помош.

    In Macedonian the needed thing is the subject. The person who needs it is the pronoun ми.

  • Keeping треба singular with a plural thing.

    Ми треба пари.
    Ми требаат пари.

    Пари is plural, and the verb agrees with the thing needed, so it becomes требаат.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ми требаLevel 2Needing Something

Learn This First

Needing something follows the допаѓа pattern.

Words in This Pattern