1

Is “need” different from “do need” in this sentence?

However, you do need to create an action and associate it with the button, so that your app knows what to do when the button is pushed!

Andrey
  • 733
  • 2
    While the auxiliary "do" is not required in the affirmative, it can be added for emphasis and/or exception, as in saying "I do love you, but...." In your example, "do" works in tandem with "however", suggesting that the preceding statement is somehow being clarified. – Egox Mar 09 '16 at 10:22

1 Answers1

4

There is a difference in usage, but this is a stylistic point, not a grammatical one.

The construction ‘do need’ as opposed simply to ‘need’ is used to create a contrast with what has gone before, but without labouring it. In essence, ‘do need to’ could be replaced by ‘must’: some steps or features are in some senses advisable but not mandatory. Others really are mission-critical.

Of course I can’t tell what the earlier text in your instance would have been. As a hypothetical example, then, incorporating the text that you have given…

In creating such a button it is always desirable to assign it a distinctive colour, and to provide a tooltip to help new users find their way around the interface, if you have the time. However, you do need to create an action and associate it with the button, so that your app knows what to do when the button is pushed!

This achieves something like…

Certain cosmetic features would generally be considered good practice. Those steps are helpful to users but not technically required. You MUST, however, assign a suitable action to this button. If you do not, the system will simply not work at all.

The usage ‘do need’ gently emphasises this transition from discussing things that you could usefully bear in mind to specifying things that you cannot proceed without. The use of ‘however’ signals that such a contrast is approaching.

Captain Cranium
  • 3,106