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Do you say needn't have in AmE?

English Language & Usage Asked by Hikaru on March 24, 2021

My textbook says that you can use this construction "needn’t have" if you want to say that something that you have done in the past wasn’t necessary and you didn’t know it was unnecessary, but you have already done that.

For example:

"You needn’t have bought any eggs, we already have a lot in the fridge"

So I’m curious do you say that in American English? Or is there a way to say it in American English?

One Answer

Need (like must) as uncommon as an modal verb in spoken English, and even in writing it is "rather formal" (OALD). Needn't, common in BrE, is rare in AmE.

To express the absence of a responsibility or obligation, an AmE speaker might still use need, but in its transitive form with a to-infinitive, or as a noun:

You didn't need to buy any eggs.

There was no need to buy any eggs.

Correct answer by choster on March 24, 2021

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