A need is a human requirement for something essential. Examples of needs include food, water and shelter. People may also have emotional or psychological needs. The need for love and acceptance is one example of a psychological need. Other examples of psychological needs include the need for self-esteem and self-actualization, as described in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. People also have economic needs, such as the need for money and the desire to purchase goods and services.
The concept of need is the subject of many philosophical and scientific theories, including Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the theory of basic needs. The idea of need is central to a number of fields, such as philosophy, biology, psychology and economics. The concept of need is important to human development and is related to the concept of happiness and well-being.
It is important to distinguish between needs and wants, as a person cannot have all of their needs satisfied at the same time. Needs are things that a person requires to function in society and to survive (food, water, clothing, shelter) while wants are desires or aspirations for items such as toys, expensive shoes and the latest electronics. People must be able to distinguish between their needs and their wants in order to plan for the future.
Often, it is difficult for people to determine what their personal needs are. A good place to start is by thinking about all of the things that are important to you in life and then identifying your top four personal needs from those experiences. You can then create a plan to meet those needs by setting goals and taking action.
When to use a and an
It’s helpful to remember that the article a is used with singular countable nouns and the article an is used with singular uncountable nouns. The word exam, for example, is a countable noun because you can have more than one exam at the same time. On the other hand, concentration is an uncountable noun because you can’t have more than one concentration at a time.
The use of the articles a and an can be confusing for English native speakers. However, if you’re familiar with the rules of grammar for using these articles, it should be quite easy to decide whether or not a noun requires an article. For more information on articles, see the University of Toronto’s page on practical English usage. Additionally, you can refer to the book Practical English Usage by Michael Swan, 3rd ed., 2006. This book contains detailed and easy-to-understand rules on the use of articles. The chapter on nouns includes a chart that can be helpful in determining which articles are needed before each noun.