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Ant_222 Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
The modal verb "need"
Hello all,
I have read that the verb "need" can be used in modal form only in the present tense. This makes me wonder in what tense it is in the following passage from "Jekyl and Hyde":
«The letter was written in an odd, upright hand and signed "Edward Hyde": and it signified, briefly enough, that the writer's benefactor, Dr. Jekyll, whom he had long so unworthily repaid for a thousand generosities, need labour under no alarm for his safety, as he had means of escape on which he placed a sure dependence.»
The overall context is past, and I can't see a way to interpret it as present tense...
Thank you in advance,
Anton
I have read that the verb "need" can be used in modal form only in the present tense. This makes me wonder in what tense it is in the following passage from "Jekyl and Hyde":
«The letter was written in an odd, upright hand and signed "Edward Hyde": and it signified, briefly enough, that the writer's benefactor, Dr. Jekyll, whom he had long so unworthily repaid for a thousand generosities, need labour under no alarm for his safety, as he had means of escape on which he placed a sure dependence.»
The overall context is past, and I can't see a way to interpret it as present tense...
Thank you in advance,
Anton
Top answer
Hidden in this great 19th-Century prose is the subjunctive form, need , the reason for which I cannot identify right now. The subjunctive was used much more commonly at the time this was written. The subjunctive is the bare form of the infinitive, the same for all persons, singular and plural.
- Hidden in this great 19th-Century prose is the subjunctive form, need , the reason for which I cannot identify right now.
- The subjunctive was used much more commonly at the time this was written.
- The subjunctive is the bare form of the infinitive, the same for all persons, singular and plural.
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5 Answers
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Hidden in this great 19th-Century prose is the subjunctive form, need, the reason for which I cannot identify right now. The subjunctive was used much more commonly at the time this was written. The subjunctive is the bare form of the infinitive, the same for all persons, singular and plural.
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Ant_222I have read that the verb "need" can be used in modal form only in the present tense.That rings true for modern English, but I seem to recall that need, must, and dareused to be used as modals in the past in the past.
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Thanks for chiming in, CJ. So, you think it's not a subjunctive form? I was merely speculating because it sounded like one to me.
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Hi, Philip,
I was on the fence about it, so I avoided (I thought) any suggestion that your interpretation was wrong. The reason for my vacillation was the verb signify, which seemed to me unable to govern a subjunctive -- and yet -- ???
Had the verb been demand or suggest, which easily take the subjunctive, or on the other hand, say or claim, which
I was on the fence about it, so I avoided (I thought) any suggestion that your interpretation was wrong. The reason for my vacillation was the verb signify, which seemed to me unable to govern a subjunctive -- and yet -- ???
Had the verb been demand or suggest, which easily take the subjunctive, or on the other hand, say or claim, which
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Thank you, CalifJim and Philip, for the interesting discussion.
When I had gone to bed this night, I ruminated on the explanation through the subjunctive, like Philip, although it never occurred to me that the verb ("signify") might be not suitable for it.
Anton
When I had gone to bed this night, I ruminated on the explanation through the subjunctive, like Philip, although it never occurred to me that the verb ("signify") might be not suitable for it.
Anton
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