precisar

Precisar is a Portuguese verb with the core sense of needing or requiring something. It is widely used in both Brazilian and European Portuguese and appears in everyday speech and writing. The basic construction is precisar de + noun (or pronoun): eu preciso de água, ela precisa de ajuda. It can also take a subordinate clause to express a request or demand: eu preciso que você venha.

Common patterns and examples:

- Preciso de (algo): I need (something). Por exemplo, "Preciso de um minuto" or "Preciso de mais tempo."

- Precisa de alguém/alguma coisa: he/she/they need someone or something.

- Preciso que + subjuntivo: I need you to come. Exemplo: "Preciso que você esteja aqui amanhã."

- Negação: não preciso de nada / não precisa de nada.

- Conjugation: the verb behaves as a regular -ar verb. Present forms include eu preciso, tu precisas, ele precisa, nós precisamos, vós precisais, eles precisam. Other tenses follow standard -ar patterns.

Regional and stylistic notes:

- In everyday usage, precisar de is the default pattern for expressing necessity. Brazilian Portuguese often favors the possessive form without de in some colloquial contexts, but precisar de remains standard and clear.

- Precisar is distinct from synonyms such as necessitar (more formal or document-like) or exigir (to require in a stronger sense). For “to specify” or “to clarify,” other verbs such as especificar or esclarecer are used rather than precisar.

Related nouns and concepts:

- The related noun precisão/precisão (precision) shares a etymological link in meaning but belongs to a different semantic domain than the everyday verb precisar.