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Margaret Andrychuk Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Modal verbs

While reading a piece of literature, I came across an odd sentence structure containing a modal verb.

He wrote: "They ought concern themselves with....".
I've always learned that the modal verb in this case is "ought to" and not just "ought".

Another example is "He needn't go".
I have never seen "need" as a modal verb in the affirmative.
As in: "They need realise".

My question: Is the omission of the preposition "to" correct, and if so, why?

"They ought concern themselves with....".
"They need realise".

Thank you in advance. Emotion: smile
  

Top answer

Margaret Andrychuk My question: Is the omission of the preposition "to" correct, and if so, why? ". "They need realise".

— RandomGuy

  • Margaret Andrychuk My question: Is the omission of the preposition "to" correct, and if so, why?
  • ".
  • "They need realise".
  • Those both sound very wrong to me.
  • )
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15 Answers
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Margaret AndrychukMy question: Is the omission of the preposition "to" correct, and if so, why?
"They ought concern themselves with....".
"They need realise".
Those both sound very wrong to me.

(The to you are referring to is an infinitival subordinator, not a preposition.)
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Margaret AndrychukI have never seen "need" as a modal verb in the affirmative. As in: "They need realise".
There are grammatically affirmative cases but they have negative effect, e.g. "Nobody need know".
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To me, your sentences seem very, very old-fashioned, even archaic.

When was your piece of literature written?

Clive
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Thank you. Emotion: smile
I am a native English speaker but this sounds very wrong to me as well.
I am trying to figure out why a book wri
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Margaret AndrychukI am trying to figure out why a book written by a popular screenwriter would contain such a glaring error. Is is it possible that there is a legitimate reason he wrote the sentence this way?
If you mean "They ought concern themselves with....", if written by a native speaker it is most probably simply a typo or misprint.
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The book is "Essentials of Screenwriting" by Richard Walter, published in 2010.
Should I assume he has lost his mind? Emotion: smile
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Margaret AndrychukShould I assume he has lost his mind?
Seems rather extreme!
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No. It's sometimes a fine line between the literary and the archaic.Emotion: geeked
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GPYThere are grammatically affirmative cases but they have negative effect, e.g. "Nobody need know".
I would say that is a grammatically negative clause. The fact that modal need is possible there is evidence of that, as well as the fact that the reversed polarity tag is positive: Nobody need know, need they?
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GPY Seems rather extreme!
Just kidding. Emotion: smile
Thanks for your insights.
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