In the sentence "A longer force arm means less effort need be applied", why is it "need be" and not "needs to be"? Both structures feel natural to me, but why is the omission of the infinitive acceptable?
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One need but consult the marked duplicates to learn about this use as a modal verb.– tchrist ♦Commented Aug 9, 2021 at 1:39
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1english.stackexchange.com/questions/103658/…– Phil SweetCommented Aug 9, 2021 at 3:00
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