In Modals^x, Negatives^x

Thank you to all those who have posted their suggestions to my little imagination game. Some have taken it very seriously thinking they would have to relearn English after the 'changes'. This was meant to be just a game, not for those wo take everything seriously, and of course in this game...

MrPedantic wrote: Yes they are similar, but... When you want to say that it is required something to be done regularly you use have to He has to do his homework after school every day. Cf. however 1. You must take three of these pills every day after lunch. Yes but in this case it is the...

Yes they are similar, but... When you want to say that it is required something to be done regularly you use have to He has to do his homework after school every day.Cf. however1. You must take three of these pills every day after lunch. Formally, when you speak about the law or obligation you...

Yes they are similar, but... When you want to say that it is required something to be done regularly you use have to He has to do his homework after school every day. Formally, when you speak about the law or obligation you use must Everyone must pay taxes. Must has no past form and no...

Hi, LCChang 1. We know that it is very important, B) don't we.When we form tag questions, it’s important to recognize the subject noun, modal words (if any used) and the verb. If the first part of the tag question is positive, the tag to follow must be negative. i.e. “you do understand that,...

Just one more thing before I go: conditionals are not considered real past tenses, so Milky's assertion, according to which must can not be in past negative, has not legs. Must not have contained is a past participle verb phrase, and in the context it means the words: participle, gerund......

Inchoateknowledge wrote:there are some oddities I have just dug up in a grammar book and in which you might be interested:Marginal modal auxiliaries:used to, ought to, need, dareused to:He usedn't to smoke.He did not use to smoke.He used to drink, did he not.Did he use to drink?ought to:Ought I...

there are some oddities I have just dug up in a grammar book and in which you might be interested: Marginal modal auxiliaries: used to, ought to, need, dare used to: He usedn't to smoke. He did not use to smoke. He used to drink, did he not. Did he use to drink? ought...

If you read the section again (357.2 in my edition), Swan says need as a modal is used mainly in negative sentences, but is also possible 'in questions, after if, and in other non-assertive structures'-- to wit: This is the only form you need fill in.

"This is the only form you need fill in." According to Swan's Practical English Usage, 'need' may act as a modal verb if and only if the sentence is negative or non.affirmative. My question is: why is the above sentence still written in this book?