23.4 The Modal Verb 要 jiu3 (‘to need to’) I

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The modal verb 要 jiu3 means ‘to need to’. We use it to indicate we need to do an activity. We put a verb for an activity after 要 jiu3.

Subject
jiu3
‘to need to’
Verb
(Activity)
返工
ngo5jiu3faan1 gung1.
Ineed togo to work
I need to go to work.

If we want to add a time expression, we put it before 要 jiu3.

SubjectTime Expression
jiu3
‘to need to’
Verb
(Activity)
下星期六返工
ngo5haa6 sing1 kei4 luk6jiu3faan1 gung1.
Inext Saturdayneed togo to work
I need to go to work next Saturday.