Faltar in Spanish

Faltar is one of those Spanish words that convey shades of meaning that don’t exist in English, it can't be translated literally into its equivalent English meaning.

Faltar might seem quite complicated at first! However, you will encounter it often enough that you should invest some time in understanding it. You may feel less confused if you do not try to translate it literally. Rather, get used to how it's used and the contexts in which you hear it.

Resources for further reading:

• Learn Spanish online the simple way
• The top ten Spanish hacks

All about Faltar in Spanish

In English, the meaning conveyed by the verb Faltar would usually have a person or people as the subject. For example:

• I’m missing Y.

In Spanish, however, what would have been the direct object in the English sentence (Y) becomes the subject, while the person (I) becomes the indirect object.

• Y is missed by me.

Sound confusing? Perhaps the examples below will help clarify things.

You will find the verb faltar to be a very useful tool as you talk about what you miss, lack, or need. For example, if you want to say that you miss having your own room, you might say,

• Me hace falta tener mi propio cuarto.

If you want to say that you’re missing a toothbrush, you can say,

• Me falta un cepillo de dientes.

It is difficult to pin down the difference between “hacer falta” and “faltar.” Usually, they can be used interchangeably.

Por ejemplo (for example):

Notice that in the above examples, "estar con mi familia," “un vestido,” etc., are actually the subjects of the sentences. However, rather than coming first, they will nearly always come after the verb. If you are constructing a sentence using faltar, put the elements of the sentence in the following order:

• indirect pronoun + conjugated verb + subject

You may wish to use the handy table below. Choose one pronoun from the first column and the correct form of faltar from one of the other two columns, depending on the tense and the quantity of what is being missed. (If what you miss is a verb, like running or cooking, then use the singular form of faltar followed by the infinitive form of the verb.) Remember that the correct form of the verb does NOT follow from the pronoun, but rather from what is being missed.

Pronoun	Present	Past (preterite)
Me, te, le	falta	faltó
Nos, os, les	faltan	faltaron

Other verbs without English equivalents

The table below gives examples of Spanish verbs without direct English equivalents. Their usage follows that of Faltar as described above.

Verb	Meaning	Por ejemplo	Everyday meaning / Literal translation
encantar	to delight or enchant	Me encanta la música latina.	I love Latin music. / Latin music delights me.
faltar	to be missed, to be lacked, to be needed	Me falta dinero para comer.	I don’t have enough money to eat. / Money is lacking for me to eat.
fascinar	to fascinate	Me fascinó la pe lícula.	I was fascinated by the movie. / The movie fascinated me.
gustar	to be pleasing to, to be liked	Me gusta oír tu voz.	I like to hear your voice. / Your voice is pleasing to me.
importar	to be important to; to be cared about	No me importa nada.	I don’t care about anything. / Nothing is important to me.
interesar	to interest, to be interesting	Me interesa la política.	I’m interested in politics. / Politics is interesting to me.
molestar	to annoy, to bother	Me molestan los mosquitos.	I am annoyed by the mosquitoes. / The mosquitoes annoy me.
quedar	to fit, to suit	Me quedó el vestido.	I looked good in the dress. / The dress suited me.

You will find the verbs above in the third person singular and plural forms almost exclusively, and they always be accompanied by an indirect object pronoun.

Por ejemplo (for example):

Check out more Spanish Verbs for useful info! Here are some recommended lessons:

• Tener, Poder, Querer & Saber in the Preterite
• Spanish Verbs Pedir and Preguntar
• Spanish stem changing verbs

See you soon! ¡Hasta pronto!

Mauricio Evlampieff: Rocket Spanish