"It need hardly be said that the subtlest practitioners of ..."
From George Orwell's 1984.
Why not 'needs'?
From George Orwell's 1984.
Why not 'needs'?
It need
I hate to invoke Wikipedia, but this page might help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_modal_verb
<<If a verb is preceded by multiple auxiliary verbs including a modal, as in "it could have been eaten," the modal will always appear before the other auxiliary verbs. A VERB OR AUXILIARY VERB FOLLOWING A MODAL ALWAYS APPEARS IN ITS BASIC FORM (for example, "could have gone" instead of "could had gone").
Dare and need
Dare and need are not commonly used as auxiliaries nowadays, but formerly they were both were. Dare is rare with the exception of "How dare you!". "He dare not do it" is equivalent to "He does not dare to do it", while "It need not happen today" is equivalent to today's "It does not need to happen today"....>>
There are various instances where the verb deviates from the simple present conjugation:
From Dave's ESL Cafe:
<<Another use for the base form is with make and
have, an object, and another verb. Use a base form
for the second verb when make and have show how
the subject caused another thing to happen.
Another use for the base form is in "that" clauses
after certain verbs that show requests or commands.
Examples:
He asked that we be careful. (WE BE, NOT WE ARE)
The manager requested that Bob work late. (BOB WORK,NOT BOB WORKS)
The supervisor demanded that Jane finish
the report before she left for the day. (JANE FINISH, NOT JANE FINISHES)>>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_modal_verb
<<If a verb is preceded by multiple auxiliary verbs including a modal, as in "it could have been eaten," the modal will always appear before the other auxiliary verbs. A VERB OR AUXILIARY VERB FOLLOWING A MODAL ALWAYS APPEARS IN ITS BASIC FORM (for example, "could have gone" instead of "could had gone").
Dare and need
Dare and need are not commonly used as auxiliaries nowadays, but formerly they were both were. Dare is rare with the exception of "How dare you!". "He dare not do it" is equivalent to "He does not dare to do it", while "It need not happen today" is equivalent to today's "It does not need to happen today"....>>
There are various instances where the verb deviates from the simple present conjugation:
From Dave's ESL Cafe:
<<Another use for the base form is with make and
have, an object, and another verb. Use a base form
for the second verb when make and have show how
the subject caused another thing to happen.
Another use for the base form is in "that" clauses
after certain verbs that show requests or commands.
Examples:
He asked that we be careful. (WE BE, NOT WE ARE)
The manager requested that Bob work late. (BOB WORK,NOT BOB WORKS)
The supervisor demanded that Jane finish
the report before she left for the day. (JANE FINISH, NOT JANE FINISHES)>>