The word need can refer to a number of things, such as a request for help, a desire to achieve something or to have something done, or a sense that there is an unmet requirement. The concept of need is not just limited to human beings; animals, plants and other living things also have needs that must be met. The need to eat and to sleep are examples of basic needs. The need for water is more complex, as it can be met in many different ways.
The academic model of need was proposed by psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1943. His theory states that people have a hierarchy of psychological needs, starting with basic physiological (lower order) needs such as food and water, through to social/belonging needs and finally self-actualization needs. He argues that people will usually spend most of their time and energy attempting to meet these basic needs before they are able to move on to fulfill higher order needs.
Other models of need exist, such as the capability approach to need developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. This view focuses on the idea that individuals have internal “assets” or “capacity” which can be used to satisfy their needs, and that these needs cannot be imposed from the outside. In other words, people can fulfill their own needs and will make choices that will help them to do so.
There are a number of rules that determine when to use the articles a and an in English. For example, the article the is only used before a noun that both the writer and reader are sure they know. It can be used for singular countable nouns, plural countable nouns or uncountable nouns. The article an is only used before a noun that starts with a consonant or vowel sound, and it can be used for either countable or uncountable nouns.
Sometimes, nouns don’t need an article at all. This is often the case for nouns that are general, such as sports, languages, meals, names of places and names of people. However, if the noun is specific, it may need an article. For example, a giraffe is a unique animal and so it may need the article the.
In some cases, there is confusion over when to use the article a or an. Generally, it is best to use a before a noun that starts with