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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

China needs/need not? which one is correct

dear all,

I have seen these expressions on the interent.

" China need not to be an enemy "

"China need not be an emerging problem"

as far as i know, the country "China" should be considered as singular nouns.

So, it is quite awkward that why the verbs have not followed with s? Does anyone can please tell us which one is correct? thanks
  

Top answer

China needs to... ~ China doesn't need to... I understand your confusion.

— Philip

  • China needs to...
  • ~ China doesn't need to...
  • I understand your confusion.
  • The structure here, China need not...
  • , is one that is an exception, and I'm not sure of the origin of it.
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2 Answers
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China needs to... ~ China doesn't need to...

I understand your confusion. The structure here, China need not..., is one that is an exception, and I'm not sure of the origin of it. It's probably a left-over from something very common in older (more formal?) English.
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need can be used as a normal verb, but in certain situations it can also be used as a modal verb.

These are both correct.

China does not need to be a problem. normal

China need not be a problem. modal

See for the correlations between the two forms.

CJ
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