need never have/need not

[ostap77]

"You need never have told him that."

OR

"You need not have told him that."

Is this grammar construction often used in conversation? Would an average American use it ?

 

[riquecohen]

"You need never have told him that."
OR

"You need not have told him that."

Is this grammar construction often used in conversation? Would an average American use it ?

Neither one is commonly heard in AmE. "You needn't (or shouldn't) have told him that" would be more frequently heard.

 

[ostap77]

Neither one is commonly heard in AmE. "You needn't (or shouldn't) have told him that" would be more frequently heard.

1)What would be the difference between "You didn't need to tell him...." and "needn't have told him...."?

2)What would be the difference between "You needn't have told him" , "You shouldn't have told him...." and "You oughtn't to have told him...."?

 

[riquecohen]

1)What would be the difference between "You didn't need to tell him...." and "needn't have told him...."? None

2)What would be the difference between "You needn't have told him" , "You shouldn't have told him...." and "You oughtn't to have told him...."?

In #2, "needn't have" might be paraphrased as "you didn't have to." To me, it carries the implication of "you shouldn't have." ("It wasn't a good idea to...") The third option is not generally heard in AmE.

 

[ostap77]

In #2, "needn't have" might be paraphrased as "you didn't have to." To me, it carries the implication of "you shouldn't have." ("It wasn't a good idea to...") The third option is not generally heard in AmE.

Would you agree to the following information?

"Needn't Have - You did something which was unnecessary but you didn't know it was unnecessary.

Didn't Need To - You did something which was unnecessary and you knew it was unnecessary."

 

[Tdol]

It works in many cases.