Page 375 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

4
It's OK - You needn't I don't need to pay for that phone call.
You don't need to pay for emergency caLls in most countries. (NOT ¥mt
lleetffl't pet)' .•• in 1U6St e6ftntFies.) talking about the future
Present tense forms of need are used when making decisions about the future. Need I come in tomorrow?
Tell her she doesn't rwed to work tonight.
Will need to ... can be used to talk about future obligation, and give advice for the future. It can make orders and instructions sound less direct.
We'll need to repair the roof next year.
You'llrwed to start work soon ifyou want to pass your exams. You'llrwed to fill in this form before you see the Inspector.
For similar uses of have ro, see 239.3.
need . . .ing: The sofa needs cleaning
After need an -ing form can be used with the same meaning as a passive infinitive, especially in BrE.
That sofa rweds cleaning again. (= •.. needs to be cleaned ...)
A structure with object + .. .ing or past participle is also possible in some cases.
You rwed your head examining. (BrE) (OR ••• examined.) need not have ...
If we say that somebody need not have done something, we mean that he or she did it, but that it was unnecessary - a waste of time.
You needn't have woken me up. I don't have to go to work today.
lrwedn't have cooked so much food. Nobody was hungry.
On the other hand, if we say that somebody did not need to do something, we are simply saying that it was not necessary (whether or not it was done). Compare:
I rwedn't have watered the flowers. Just after I finished it started raining.
It started raining, so I didn't rwed to water the flowers.
Need never have . .. is a more emphatic version of need not have . ...
I need rwver have packed all that suncream - it rained every day. need not and must not
Need not or do not need to is used to say that there is no obligation; must not is used to say that there is an obligation not to do something. Compare:
You needn't tell Jennifer - she aLready knows.
You mustn't tell Margaret - I don't want her to know.
Need not is also sometimes used to say that something is not necessarily true.
She Looles quite ill. I'm sure it's flu. -It rwedn't be - maybe she's just over-tired.
For rllere is 110 lleed ro • ••, see 587.2.
5
6
7
need 366
page 343