dare (to) do

[ostap77]

"I dare make a statement."

OR

"I dare to make a statement."

When do we keep ''to" in the sentence and when do we leave it out? Any grammar preferences?

 

[5jj]

"I dare make a statement."

OR

"I dare to make a statement."

When do we keep ''to" in the sentence and when do we leave it out? Ny grammar preferences?

dare is sometimes classed with the modal verbs, but it is rarely used as a modal except in such fossilised expressions as I dare say (occasionally, incorrectly, written as I daresay) and in the present tense negative in BrE, e.g. I daren't ask her.

Using dare as a full verb followed by a to-infinitive is the form you will most commonly see and hear, and it is always correct. The to is sometimes dropped by some people in conversation, but it should be there in the written form.

Your first example sounds very strange on its own for two reasons.
1. modal dare is rare, as I said above.
2. dare is far more common in negatives and questions than in affirmative statements. You might well hear: I wonder if I dare make a statement (an indirect question.

Your second example is less unlikely than your first, but still a little unusual, because it is affirmative.

 

[BobK]

I don't know of a grammatical preference, except that in the idiomatic use of 'dare say' (meaning "estimate/think/reckon/suppose...") there's no 'to' (in fact it's often spelt as one word - check in a dictionary to find out how widespread this is - I don't do it myself), and there's usually (always???) a 'to' when the 'dare' is imperative: 'dare to be different'. Note that the restriction on 'dare say' doesnt apply to the non-idiomatic use: 'I dare say there were a million people on the streets' but 'With the gun pointing at me I didn't dare to say anything'.

I dare say others will have a view (;-)) but as far as I klnow it's largely a matter of those two big C-words Context and Collocation.

b

 

[birdeen's call]

I always thought "daresay" was not only correct but also different from "dare say". Not in meaning, but in pronunciation. Isn't "daresay" stressed on the first syllable and "dare say" on the second?

 

[5jj]

I always thought "daresay" was not only correct but also different from "dare say". Not in meaning, but in pronunciation. Isn't "daresay" stressed on the first syllable and "dare say" on the second?

Thanks for raising that, BC. I have just checked with my dictionaries. I know, I should have done that before I posted my last answer. Neither the Concise nor the full Oxford gives daresay, but Webster's Third does, so apparently it's correct in AmE. Webster gives the two parts equal stress. I think I give the two words equal stress.

Webster says that it means 'venture to say' and gives 'venture' as one of the meanings of 'dare' , so the meaning appears to be the same whether we have one word or two..

 

[birdeen's call]

There are three sample pronunciations of the word here. Two Americans stress both syllables. The British person clearly stresses "dare". I'm not sure though whether it means anything. I found some of those samples misleading.

 

[5jj]

There are three sample pronunciations of the word here. Two Americans stress both syllables. The British person clearly stresses "dare". I'm not sure though whether it means anything. I found some of those samples misleading.

Thanks for the link, BC. I agree that the British person definitely stresses dare, but the first two versions sound distinctly unnatural to me. Unfortunately, not a lot of people use the expression these days, so we may have to wait a long time before we hear it in natural conversation.