necessitei

Necessitei is the first-person singular preterite form of the Portuguese verb necessitar, meaning to need or to require. It is used to express a need or requirement that occurred in the past, often indicating a completed past action or situation.

Etymology and relation to other languages: Necessitar comes from Latin roots related to necessity, with cognates in other Romance languages such as Spanish necesitar and French nécessiter. The form necessitei reflects regular conjugation for an -ar verb in the Portuguese preterite.

Conjugation and examples: The full preterite paradigm is Eu necessitei, Tu necessitaste, Ele/Ela necessitou, Nós necessitamos, Vós necessitastes, Eles/Elas necessitaram. In Brazilian Portuguese, the form with você/ele/ela is widely used in everyday speech (Você necessitou), while in European Portuguese tu necessitaste and vós necessitastes are more common in formal or regional contexts. Examples: “Eu necessitei de mais tempo para completar o relatório.” “A empresa necessitou que os prazos fossem cumpridos.”

Usage notes: Necessitar is more formal or literary than the more common precisar. It often takes a complement introduced by de (necessitar de) to indicate what is needed, as in necessitei de ajuda. In some contexts, especially when describing a situation that required action, it can be used with a subordinate clause introduced by que (a situação necessitou que tomássemos medidas).

See also: precisar, necessidade, necessário, necessitar (etymology).