Indicating obligation and willingness
|
Using the semi-modal dare to indicate willingness | page 2 of 3 |
Features of the semi-modal dare
To see a relevant teacher's question, click on this icon 
.
The main distinction between dare used as a main verb and dare used as a modal is that when used as a main verb dare is typically followed by a to-infinitive or an object plus the to-infinitive. Here is dare used as a main verb:
I don't think honesty ever hurts, and on every one of the issues I raised, I would still stand by those issues and think that the world's a little better place because somebody dared to talk about a reality that everybody else was sweeping under the rug. (Bank of English)
Li was caught siphoning diesel into a plastic container. Duty lawyer Mr Suen Kam-hee said other taxi drivers had dared his client to commit the offence. He said Li was a first-time offender who committed the offence out of greed and foolishness. (SCMP 14/11/92)
Note that dare is much more commonly used as a modal than as a main verb in English.
As a modal, dare is often found in negative and interrogative sentences:
The Welsh say things about the English people, the English language, the English tradition that we would never dare say about the Welsh.
(Bank of English)How dare you sit there and say it is none of our business? (Bank of English)
In the present simple tense, the third person singular form of dare can be either dare or dares:
The USA dare not restrain or punish individuals. That's why the whole country is in chaos - drugs, violence, unemployment and homelessness, all sorts of problems in its society. (SCMP14/4/94)
The USA dares not restrain or punish individuals.
While dare can be used with will, would, should, might, the most commonly used modal is would:
There are characters at the New York Daily News as dramatic and unpredictable as any Hollywood would dare invent. (SCMP 31/5/94)
I wouldn't dare answer a policeman back. (Bank of English)
Unlike other modals, dare is occasionally used with the auxiliary verb do, typically in the past tense:
Of course we're more permissive. Thirty years ago I can assure you that children, young people, did not go on holidays together. If you got a divorce you practically didn't dare speak about it. (Bank of English)
Nutty hated her. She wanted to say, "You beastly pig," but didn't dare. (Microconcord Corpus B)
Introduction
Features of the semi-modal dare
