A need is something a person must have to survive. Examples of needs include food, water, and shelter. Needs can be distinguished from wants, which are non-essential items. When planning a budget, it is important to distinguish between needs and wants in order to ensure that basic needs are met before spending money on luxury items.
A person’s needs may change daily or hourly. For example, if a person is walking in the hot sun and their throat becomes dry, they might need to go to a store to purchase a drink. Unlike the need for water, which is constant, the want to have a drink will likely change daily or even hourly.
It is also possible for an individual to have emotional or psychological needs. For example, some people may need to feel connected or loved. These needs can be addressed through therapy or other means.
When writing an article, it is important to choose a topic that you are passionate about. This will make the topic more interesting for readers. Additionally, it is helpful to create an outline before formally beginning to write. This will help you organize which information should go where in your article. Many articles follow the five-paragraph essay outline, which includes an introduction, three paragraphs of supporting evidence, and a conclusion.
Another way to think of needs is in terms of a hierarchy. Psychologist Abraham Maslow’s theory of need suggests that human beings must fulfill their most basic physiological or lower order needs (i.e., hunger, sleep, safety) before they can move on to higher order needs (i.e., belonging, esteem, self-actualization).
It is often a good idea to prioritize needs. For example, if you have an urgent need to eat, it might be more important than going out for a fancy dinner. This will prevent you from overspending on things that you don’t necessarily need to have.
If someone says that they don’t need to do something, it implies that they have no obligation to do it. It is also possible to say that someone needn’t have done something, which indicates that they didn’t have to do it but did anyway.
The word need is a semi-modal verb, which means it can be used in both affirmative and negative contexts. When used in the positive, it is a strong modal phrase that indicates a necessary duty or obligation.
In the negative, the word need is most often used as a negation. It is common to hear someone say something like “I don’t need you” in an argument. This implies that they do not have to listen to what the other person is saying and therefore do not have to take their side of the argument.
The adjective need is similar to the noun necessity, which carries stronger connotations of urgency or imperative demand. However, it is less effective than need in capturing this sense of emotion.