Are both okay here if my friends just went out: My friends went out without me becau

Are both okay here if my friends just went out:

My friends went out without me because I had been driving all day and I need rest.

VS

My friends went out without me because I have been driving all day and I need rest.

I would use "needed" in the first.

would that make both okay?

Batman45 said:

Would that make both okay?

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Yes.

Needed a/to rest.
;-)

It's OK without "a" or "to" as well.

bhaisahab said:

It's OK without "a" or "to" as well.

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"Needed" implies it's not working as an auxiliary, meaning that either "to" or "a" is required.
Look here: http://www.englishgrammar.org/bare-infinitive/

In any case, "I needed rest" sounds a bit iffy to me.
Correct me if I'm wrong. ;-)

teechar said:

In any case, "I needed rest" sounds a bit iffy to me.
Correct me if I'm wrong. ;-)

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I believe you're wrong. I'll concede that it sounds a bit iffy to you - you are right in that. It doesn't to me.

Raymott said:

I believe you're wrong. I'll concede that it sounds a bit iffy to you - you are right in that. It doesn't to me.

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So it's my ear against yours!
At least I put up an explanation and a reference as to why I suspected it to be incorrect! Can you do the same? :-D

Teechar, your link is not on point. The verb need, in its transitive use, takes a direct object. "Rest" is a direct object.

MikeNewYork said:

Teechar, your link is not on point. The verb need, in its transitive use, takes a direct object. "Rest" is a direct object.

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I see that Mike, but if "rest" is acting as a noun, then surely a determiner is in order then!

teechar said:

At least I put up an explanation and a reference as to why I suspected it to be incorrect! Can you do the same? :-D

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You want me to prove that "I needed rest" is correct? I'm not sure I can find a link for that. And I don't understand the significance of your link to the bare infinitive.
"I (subject) needed (past tense of 'to need') rest (noun)."
The whole sentence is in the past tense. "My friends went out without me because ... I needed rest."
Unlike some teachers here, I'm always willing to provide evidence for my case if I can. But you'll have to be more precise about what you think is wrong.

"Rest" can be a non-count noun as well.
I need sleep.
I need rest.

It certainly can be a countable noun as well -- I need a rest.

No, not surely.

Consider "I need time to consider the proposal? Should it be "a time"? There are many nouns in many uses that do not need an article.

I'm more than happy with "I need/needed rest". It's a perfectly acceptable non-count noun.

I needed sleep.
I needed food.
I needed water.
I needed rest.
I needed cake!

It's used extensively this way in BrE.

In AmE also.