It doesn't need/have to be done like this

[Alexey86]

Hello! Could you, please, help me to clarify the meaning of the phrases "It doesn't need to be done like this/It doesn't have to be done like this"? And in particular:

1) Do they refer to the past, the present or the future? As I know the structure "smth needs/has to be done" implies that "smth" hasn't been done yet now and will be done in the future. But it seems to me that adding "like this" changes time reference and points to the present or the past. For instance, a) I've completed my job task, and my boss sees the result and says It doesn't need/have to be done like this. Or, b) I'm in the process of doing the task, and my boss sees how wrong I'm doing it and says the same.
Or would he say in case "b" "It doesn't need/have to be/being doing like this"?

2) What the difference in meaning between the variants with "need" and "has" in my instances above? Since "has to do/to be done" provides the meaning of obligation/duty, etc, it's pretty clear for me that "It doesn't have to be done like this" may mean that smth has been done in breach of the requirements. But what does variant with "need" may mean in my particular instances? I've heard "don't need'' may express speaker's care/worry, annoyance/irritation or threat depend on context, e.g.:"You don't need to walk in the rain, you may get sick" (= care), "You don't need to come any closer, I will hit you" (= threat), "You don't need to come again, I'm tired of you" (= annoyance).
May "need" provide some of these meanings in the work task context above?

 

[jutfrank]

1) Both of the example situations you give could explain it, yes.

2) need means it's not necessary. There might be another better way to do it.

have could also mean it's not necessary but could also mean it's not required. It is not required that it be done like this.

 

[Alexey86]

Thank you, jutfrank! But I think I'm missing something. If my boss says to me "doesn't need to" or "doesn't have to",doesn't it mean that I'v done the task wrong and should redo it or start doing it right in the both cases? Might "doesn't need to" be just a more polite version of "doesn't have to" providing the same meaning?

 

[Alexey86]

Thank you, Piscean. I just want to be as precise as possible when speaking English. May I ask you what would you say if you see someone close to you preparing to the exams with no rest and sleep: "It doesn't need to be done/to be doing/to being doing like this" or "doesn't have to be done/to be doing/to being doing like this"?

 

[emsr2d2]

I wouldn't use either. I don't speak in such a formal manner to people close to me. At a push, I might say "It doesn't have to be like this" but I'd be much more likely to say "You need some sleep! There's no point taking the exam if you fall asleep halfway through it!"

Then I'd take away their books/laptop and make them go to bed! ;-)

 

[Alexey86]

I don't speak in such a formal manner to people close to me

Thank you, emsr2d2! What if it would be someone not so close to you, but you still worry about him/her being a kind person. May be you could help me to find a context in which using "doesn't need to" is clearly more appropriate than "doesn't have to"?

 

[Tdol]

It's not easy because there is so much overlap, but what happens if you have an obligation in the second half of the sentence?

I don't need to tell them what happened, but I feel I have to.

 

[Alexey86]

Oh, Thank you, Tdol! That's it. So, if I get it right "doesn't need" in your example means you want to avoid potential adverse consequences, but the feel of duty is stroger. If we go back to my job task context, does "it doesn't need to be done like this" mean that the adverse consequences occured cause the worker had done the task wrong? If so, does "doesn't have to" mean the same, or is there some subtle difference? Or maybe "doesn't need" means that worker had done it according to the requirements, but in spite of that, the adverse consequences occured? Or, as I suggested earlier, "doesn't need" is just a more polite version of "doesn't have"?

I have another example relating to personal relationships:
1. A married couple is going to divorse, and they are yelling at each other every day. And at some point one of them says: "It (= our divorce) doesn't need to be done/be doing/being doing like this".
2. A married couple is going to divorse, and one of them ask another whether they have to go to court, and he/she says: "It doesn't have to be done like this".

Have I caught the difference in this case?

 

[emsr2d2]

I have another example relating to personal relationships:

1. A married couple is going to divorce, and they are yelling at each other every day. [STRIKE]And[/STRIKE] At some point, one of them says (no colon here) "It (= our divorce) doesn't need to be done [STRIKE]/be doing/being doing[/STRIKE] like this".
2. A married couple is going to divorce, and one of them asks [STRIKE]another[/STRIKE] the other whether they have to go to court, and he/she says (no colon here) "It doesn't have to be done like [STRIKE]this[/STRIKE] that".

Have I [STRIKE]caught[/STRIKE] understood the difference in this case?

Note my corrections above. "being doing" is never correct in any context.

In #1, again, the most natural similar answer would be "It doesn't have to be like this".
In #2, it's a relatively unnatural response. Standard responses would be "Yes [we do]", "No [we don't]" and "Not necessarily".

 

[Alexey86]

Thank you for your corrections. May I ask you why "caught" is wrong? I used it in a figurative sence.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you for your corrections. May I ask you why "caught" is wrong? I used it in a figurative sense.

The phrasal verb "catch on" can mean "understand" but "catch" on its own usually means "hear". For example:

I've explained this six times but you're really not catching on, are you? I might have to give up.
Can you repeat that please? I didn't quite catch what you said.