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The header of psyco.sourceforge.net states:

High-level languages need not be slower than low-level ones.

Why use need not instead of do not need? What does it mean? Also, why no to before be?

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1 Answer

up vote 13 down vote accepted

There are two verbs need, which mean the same thing but use different constructions:

He need not be concerned.

Need I be concerned?

This need is a modal verb: it always requires an infinitive without to; it doesn't have do-support in questions and negative sentences; and the third person singular (he/she/it) doesn't have -s. This is the need in your example.

It is slightly old fashioned. Except in negative sentences and questions, I don't think you will see it much in modern writing, except in certain fixed expressions, such as if need be ("if necessary").

He doesn't need to call her.

Do I need to call him?

She needs to call him.

You need him.

This is the more common need, a regular verb (no modal). If it is used with another verb, the infinitive with to is used. It always has do-support. It can be used without another verb, with a direct object (you need him).

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Blast, you beat me to it. The Wiktionary entry for need has some handy usage notes that explain a few more forms of the word. – user1579 Jun 10 '11 at 17:37
@Rhodri: Hah, you lo—I mean, my apologies! – Cerberus Jun 10 '11 at 17:40
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+1 It doesn't seem that old-fashioned in the negative. Google Ngrams shows "need not" is still used much more often than either "needs not" and "does not need to". For the regular verb, you can see from the Ngram that "does not need to" is slowly replacing "needs not". – Peter Shor Jun 10 '11 at 18:40
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@Peter Shor: Need is also a noun. With that ngram, you have no way of excluding things like "there is a need not to generalize". – Kosmonaut Jun 10 '11 at 18:48
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@Kosmonaut: I checked a sample, and the vast majority indeed seem to be need being used as a modal verb. – Peter Shor Jun 10 '11 at 18:51
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