Is it necessary?

In English, we use “need to” to say that something is important for someone to do. This form is often used for something that is important one time, rather than referring to a responsibility or duty.

• She needs to come to the meeting next week.
• I need to make sure this apartment is clean before the guests arrive.

We use the negative form of “need to” to express that something isn’t necessary, but possible. At times, we use “don’t need to” to express that we don’t expect someone to do something.

• You don’t need to come to the meeting next week.
• I don’t need to clean the apartment now since we’re all going to a restaurant.

You probably know this by now. However, there is another structure you can use to express the same idea, but in a more formal way. Let’s have a look at some examples:

Affirmative: It’s necessary to come to the meeting next week.

Negative: It’s not necessary to come to the meeting next week.

Interrogative: Is it necessary to come to the meeting next week?

If you want to emphasize that someone is needed to do something, you can include “for + object” after “necessary”.

Affirmative: It’s necessary for Sarah to come to the meeting next week.

Negative: It’s not necessary for Sarah to come to the meeting next week.

Interrogative: Is it necessary for Sarah to come to the meeting next week?

Notice that the verb never changes its infinitive form. “To come”. We should never say: “to comes”.

Why is it necessary for you to improve your English level? Let me know in the discussion panel.

It’s necessary for me to improve my speaking skills because I’m looking for a better job.