Is "dare" a modal verb?

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imakedon

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Which of the two below is a correct English phrase please (Oh, no, not “neither”, huh?):
(a) I would not dare to unscrew…
OR
(b) I would dare not to unscrew…
(“Dare” specificity is meant here).
Thanks.
--Igor
 

emsr2d2

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Which of the two below is a correct English phrase please (Oh, no, not “neither”, huh?):
(a) I would not dare to unscrew…
OR
(b) I would dare not to unscrew…
(“Dare” specificity is meant here).
Thanks.
--Igor

In the right context, you could use both. The first is more likely.
 

Tdol

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Neither of these sentences does much to demonstrate whether dare can be a modal verb. Dare can behave like a modal verb sometimes- when we say I daren't tell them, it is. It is sometimes classified as a semi-modal, like need, which means that it can behave like a modal or like an ordinary verb.
 

5jj

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In neither of those sentences does DARE function as a modal verb.
 
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