Need and needn't

MJGR   Friday, May 23, 2003, 09:33 GMT
If you want to use 'need' in an affirmative sentence you say:
"I need to make a question."
But if you want to use it in a negative sentence then you say:
I need not make a question.
Can you say 'I need make a question' or 'I don't need to make a question'?
And how do you contruct the interrogative form:
Do I need to make a question? or
Need I to make a question?
Don't I need to make a question? or
Needn't I make a question?

Sure nobody knows how to answer this.
Kabam   Friday, May 23, 2003, 10:12 GMT
Need can be used both as an auxiliary or a verb, although it seems to be used more often as a verb.
I've often heard or read 'you don't need to' rarely 'you needn't'.
Rodrigo   Friday, May 23, 2003, 14:20 GMT
Perhaps i´m not the right one to answer this question but, I never ever heard "needn´t" being used in a sentence. In this case when you are not sure of what is correct why to take a risk? Go to the easyest one "don´t need".

Interrogative form i always used:
Do i need...?


But I´m just learning english, and as i said before, i may not be the right one to answer this...
Jim   Monday, May 26, 2003, 01:40 GMT
You could say "I need not make a question.", "I needn't make a question." or "I don't need to make a question." However, you'd rarely hear the first two, the last one is more common.

"I need to make a question." is correct, I'd avoid "I need make a question."

I'd also avoid "Need I to make a question?" in preference to "Need I make a question?" but both are uncommon with "Do I need to make a question?" being most often used.

Similarly "Don't I need to make a question?" is more often heard than "Needn't I make a question?" or "Need I not make a question?".

Put simply, these are what I'd usually use:
"I need to make a question."
"I don't need to make a question."
"Do I need to make a question?" &
"Don't I need to make a question?"
Antonio   Monday, May 26, 2003, 12:38 GMT
I use ´needn´t´ quite more than ´don´t need to´. It not only sounds better ( to me ) but is even easier to use.
Jim   Tuesday, May 27, 2003, 03:43 GMT
There's nothing wrong with "needn't". You needn't avoid it.
David Bosch   Friday, June 06, 2003, 02:23 GMT
But that verb-not form is used with some other verbs, I've heard it for instance:
Touch not or Don't touch
Behave not or Don't behave

Is there really a difference or not? What sounds better to you, not easier to say, but perhaps more (I can't find the word) more 'posh', or more sophisticated.
David Bosch   Friday, June 06, 2003, 02:25 GMT
But that verb-not form is used with some other verbs, I've heard it for instance:
Touch not or Don't touch
Behave not or Don't behave

Is there really a difference or not? What sounds better to you, not easier to say, but perhaps more (I can't find the word) more 'posh', or more sophisticated.