For ‘to need to’, when to use necessitated and when to use tener que?
To need to
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To need to
Hola Matthew
Tener que and Necesitar are pretty interchangeable, but if we are a bit more specific on the more typical scenarios when we use one or the other, we can see some tendencies.
If you are talking about some sort of "need" in a general sense, you can say:
Tengo que ir al médico.
Necesito ir al médico.
However, there is a "tendency" to use necesitar when we are talking about some kind of physical or mental need; for example in:
Necesito beber agua. (I need to drink some water.)
Necesitas dormir un poco. (You need to have some sleep.)
Necesito conocer a gente nueva. Nunca salgo. (I need to meet new people. I never go out.)
But, really, in practice, you can't go wrong using one or the other.
Saludos
Inma
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