Need Not Grammar Question

[Zajoman]

Hi there.

Is "need not" considered modal? Which sentence is correct?
1. She need not go there.
2. She needs not go there.

[Pete]

Hi there.

Is "need not" considered modal? Which sentence is correct?
1. She need not go there.
2. She needs not go there.
The verb need can be used as either an auxiliary or an ordinary verb. Your sentence 1 is a correct example of its use as an auxiliary verb.

Sentence 2 is not correct; a correct sentence using need as an ordinary verb would be:
- She doesn't need to go there.

A comparable affirmative sentence would be:
- She needs to go there.

Note that in both cases, the ordinary verb is followed by an infinitive with "to".

[Zajoman]

So "need not" with the meaning that someone does not have to do something never takes "-s", right? So it works like modals (can).

[Lucretia]

Hello Zajoman,
As Peter said it was an auxiliary, I think maybe it's a question of terms in different grammars.
Here's from Collins:
need - (takes an infinitive without to) used as an auxiliary in negative and interrogative sentences to express necessity or obligation and does not add -s when used with he, she, it, and singular nouns
Need he go?
The one I've learned says need can be used either as a modal or an ordinary verb and being modal it doesn't conjugate of course.

1. She doesn't need to go there.
2. She needn't go there.
3. She didn't need to go there.
4. She needn't have gone there.

While #1 and #2 mean the same, the other two are different.
#3 means there was no necessity to do it.
#4 means she did go there, though it was not necessary.

Best wishes.

[Zajoman]

Thank you very much, people. I wish you love.