Which one of the two sentences - "Do I need mention that she is my wife" or "Do I need to mention that she is my wife" - is correct use.
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May be this will answer your question. english.stackexchange.com/a/103241/139486– RahulCommented Sep 21, 2015 at 9:06
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2 Answers
Need is a semi-modal verb which can actually follow two patterns:
Do I need to mention that she is my wife? (treating need as a regular verb)
or
Need I mention that she is my wife? (treating need as a modal verb)
Same goes for the negative:
I don't need to mention...
or
I needn't mention...
Mixing the two, i.e. using "Do I need mention...?" or "I don't need mention" or "Need I to mention?" is unnatural.
answered Sep 21, 2015 at 8:52
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@GirishBhatnagar that comment almost sounds sarcastic, and rude! You should say "Thank you for answering my trivial question" Commented Sep 21, 2015 at 11:32
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@Mari-LouA I think part of the problem here is that, in India (or at least in parts of India), "doubt" means "question". As a result, many uses of "doubt" sound strange or impolite to non-Indians. (For example, if an American tells me that he has a doubt about one of my theorems, I worry because he thinks he found a mistake; if an Indian says the same thing, I don't worry, because he probably just has a question.) Commented Sep 21, 2015 at 12:37
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Thanks, Andreas!. For clearing Mari-Lou's doubt(!); next time I shall show my gratitude for giving an answer to my question/s. Commented Sep 22, 2015 at 6:38
If the Ngram viewer is any guide, the bare infinitive following "need" used to be more popular than the to-infinitive. For the bare infinitive, we go from the sublime past, The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719)
As to the carpenters, I scarce need mention how useful they were.*
to the ridiculous modern, The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need by S. J. Rothberg (2002):
Here, you only need mention that you did pet sitting. It doesn't matter that it was for the neighbors or a relative.
*From an 1812 edition published by Chiswick Press
