| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| dare (v., aux.) |
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| Dare as a full verb can be followed by to plus an infinitive, and it is inflected in the third person present singular: I dare him to jump in. She dares to hope they’ll accept. As a modal auxiliary, dare is followed by an infinitive phrase, but without to, and the third person present singular is uninflected as a subjunctive: She dare not think about tomorrow. Roger daren’t phone his mother. When you use dare with other auxiliaries, it is often difficult to say whether you have used the modal or the verb: I didn’t dare ask him. I didn’t dare to ask him. The old past tense form durst, as in They durst not challenge him, is archaic or obsolete in Standard English, although it may continue still in some regional dialects. Today most Americans would say They dared not challenge him. See also DASSENT. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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