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need

Ordinary verb: Everybody needs to rest.​

Need most often has ordinary verb forms: the third person singular has -s, and questions and negatives are made with do. Need is usually followed by an infinitive with to.

  • Everybody needs to rest sometimes.
  • Do we need to reserve seats on the train?

Need can also have the same present-tense forms as modal auxiliary verbs: the third person singular has no -s, and questions and negatives are made without do. In this case, need is normally followed by an infinitive without to.

  • She needn’t reserve a seat – there’ll be plenty of room.

These forms are used mainly in negative sentences (needn’t); but they are also possible in questions, after if, and in other ‘non-affirmative’ structures (see here).

  • You needn’t fill in a form.
  • I wonder if I need fill in a form.
  • but not You need fill in a form.
  • Need I fill in a form?
  • This is the only form you need fill in.

These forms are more common in British English; in American English have to / don’t have to are preferred.

needn’t, need I?: immediate necessity​

These modal forms of need normally refer to immediate necessity. They are often used to ask for or give permission – usually permission not to do something. They are not used to talk about habitual, general necessity. Compare:

  • It’s OK – you needn’t / don’t need to pay for that phone call.
  • You don’t need to pay for emergency calls in most countries. (not You needn’t pay … in most countries.)

Talking about the future​

Present tense forms of need are used when making decisions about the future.

  • Need I come in tomorrow?
  • Tell her she doesn’t need to work tonight.

Will need to … can be used to talk about future obligation, and give advice for the future. It can make orders and instructions sound less direct.

  • We’ll need to repair the roof next year.
  • You’ll need to start work soon if you want to pass your exams.
  • You’ll need to fill in this form before you see the Inspector.
note

For similar uses of have to, (see here).

need …ing: The sofa needs cleaning.​

After need an -ing form can be used with the same meaning as a passive infinitive, especially in British English.

  • That sofa needs cleaning again. (= … needs to be cleaned …)

A structure with object + …ing or past participle is also possible in some cases.

  • You need your head examining. (BrE) (or … examined.)

need not have …​

If we say that somebody need not have done something, we mean that he or she did it, but that it was unnecessary – a waste of time.

  • You needn’t have woken me up. I don’t have to go to work today.
  • I needn’t have cooked so much food. Nobody was hungry.

On the other hand, if we say that somebody did not need to do something, we are simply saying that it was not necessary (whether or not it was done). Compare:

  • I needn’t have watered the flowers. Just after I finished it started raining.
  • It started raining, so I didn’t need to water the flowers.

Need never have … is a more emphatic version of need not have …

  • I need never have packed all that suncream – it rained every day.

need not and must not​

Need not or do not need to is used to say that there is no obligation; must not is used to say that there is an obligation not to do something. Compare:

  • You needn’t tell Jennifer – she already knows.
  • You mustn’t tell Charlotte – I don’t want her to know.

Need not is also sometimes used to say that something is not necessarily true.

  • ‘She looks quite ill. I’m sure it’s flu.’ ‘It needn’t be – maybe she’s just over-tired.’
note

For there is no need to …, (see here).