Grammar?
Thank you for cleaning the house, but you needn't/shouldn't have done it. I was going to do it later.
Is there a difference between them?
Thank you.
Top answer
Yes - there is a difference. If you had the ability to choose your tone, there could be no real difference, but the word 'needn't' suggests something friendly and 'shouldn't' COULD suggest something negative. You need not have done something - it was not a thing that you had to do, and you had a choice.
- Yes - there is a difference.
- If you had the ability to choose your tone, there could be no real difference, but the word 'needn't' suggests something friendly and 'shouldn't' COULD suggest something negative.
- You need not have done something - it was not a thing that you had to do, and you had a choice.
- No-one would have been critical had you chosen not to do it.
- You should not have done something - literally, it was wrong for you to have done something OR, with a gentle tone, it was not necessary for you to have done something and it may or may not have been appreciated by the person you did it for.
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Yes - there is a difference. If you had the ability to choose your tone, there could be no real difference, but the word 'needn't' suggests something friendly and 'shouldn't' COULD suggest something negative.
You need not have done something - it was not a thing that you had to do, and you had a choice. No-one would have been critical had you chosen not to do it.
You should not h
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