need
part of speech
verb (need, needs, needed, needing); modal (need not, needn't); noun (a need, needs)
meaning for a pupil
1) To need something is to have to have it, because you cannot do well without it. tree →
2) To need to do something is to have to do it. tree →
3) A need is something a person or animal must have, like food, water and a home. tree →
4) «Needn't» means do not have to: «You needn't come». tree →
5) (casual) «Need» is often said for «want»: «I need that game!»; «need a hand?» means can I help. tree →
6) (rude) «Do we need to hear this?», «nobody needs your opinion» are put-downs. tree →
7) (euphemism) «Special needs» or «additional needs» is a polite term for a child who needs extra help; «in need» means poor. tree →
8) (formal) Exams say «require», «requisite», «necessitate», «the quantity required», «the shortfall» (how much is still needed) and «is obliged to». tree →
sense in the lessons
a target: how much is needed for a task, compared with what one has; or an amount each one needs; in science, living things need air, water and food; phrases «need to», «in need», «no need», «needs more», «if need be»; in casual talk «need a hand?», «we're 4, need 3 each», «I need a wee»; in rough talk «I don't need your crap», «nobody needs your help»; in the exam voice «the quantity required», «determine the shortfall», «each unit requires 3 eggs»
examples
- She needs 9 cups of flour. tree →
- He needs 20 dollars but has 12. How many more does she need? tree →
- Each cake needs 3 eggs. tree →
- Plants need water and sunlight. tree →
- You need to finish your homework first. tree →
- We collected food for families in need. tree →
- There is no need to shout. tree →
- we're 4, need 3 each, how many sausages then tree →
- Need a hand with them boxes? tree →
- I don't need your help, I can count to 20 myself! tree →
- A recipe requires 3 eggs per cake. Determine the shortfall, given 7 eggs on hand and 4 cakes to be baked. tree →
- You needn't bring anything, we've got heaps. tree →
note
Marks a target. «needs N, has M; how many more» gives N − M. «each needs N» with a count gives a product. «requires» in an exam means needs; «the shortfall» is target − what you have. Trap: «needs» is not what one already has. «Need» and «want» differ: you need food, you may only want sweets. «Knead» (to press dough) sounds the same.
In the corpora
- Shops, hospitals, buses and factories need people at all hours, so their workers follow a rota that can change every week.
- Gardens need regular weeding, mowing and watering or they quickly grow wild.
- A newborn baby needs feeding every two or three hours, day and night, because its stomach is tiny.
- Babies feed from the breast or a bottle, often for twenty minutes or more, and they need calm to settle.
- Not every illness needs medicine: a cold gets better on its own.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «need» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.