Dec. 7, 2020
Journal 12/07/20
I didn’t dare fall asleep.
I didn’t dare to fall asleep.
I think the second sentence is correct because of the rules that there is only a verb in one sentence. “Dare” is a verb, “fall asleep” is a phrase verb, so I put a “to” in front of the “fall asleep” changing it to an infinitive. In this sentence, “I” is subject, “didn’t dare” is predicate, and “to fall asleep” is infinitive as object. That is my understanding of the second sentence. I think the first sentence is incorrect because there are two predicate verbs that “didn’t dare” and “fall asleep” in one sentence. This is against the rules of English grammar. English speakers correct the second sentence into the first one. I have checked many grammar resources, but I failed to get the correct answers. So I posted it here hoping somebody could help me out. Thank you guys very much.
Journal 12/07/20
I didn’t dare fall asleep.
I didn’t dare to fall asleep.
I think the second sentence is correct because of the rules that there iscan only abe one verb in onea sentence.
“Dare” is a verb, and “fall asleep” is a verb phrase verb, so I put a “to” in front of the “fall asleep” changturning it into an infinitive.
In this sentence, “I” is subject, “didn’t dare” is the predicate, and “to fall asleep” is an infinitive ascting as the object.
This isn't accurate. "didn't dare to fall asleep" in its entirety is the predicate.
That is my understanding of the second sentence.
I think the first sentence is incorrect because there are two predicate verbs thatverbs, “didn’t dare” and “fall asleep”, in one sentence.
This is against the rules of English grammar.
English speakers correct the second sentence into the first one.
I have checked many grammar resources, but I failed to get the correct answers.
So I posted it here hoping somebody could help me out.
Thank you guys very much.
Feedback
You aren't wrong about there only being one verb in every sentence. However, if you look up the word "dare" on your dictionary of choice, you'll see that it's also used as an "auxiliary verb". Auxiliary verbs are verbs that can be used with other verbs, such as "have", "be", "may", "do", etc. So, in this case, "I didn't dare fall asleep" is a perfectly valid construction.
Native speakers often tend to speak (in day-to-day speech) as curtly as possible; because the "to" can be omitted here, they often do omit it, which is why they might've corrected your second sentence to your first one. However, neither are wrong, so you can use whichever one you want.
Nice work as always! Keep it up.
Dec. 9, 2020
Every major dictionary (i.e. every dictionary I could be bothered to check--Oxford, Macmillan, and Merriam-Webster) accepts the "dare do" construction as perfectly valid. Furthermore, in my experience, the "dare do" construction is more common in day-to-day speech than the "dare to do" construction. On those grounds, I'd argue that your answer to the question is incorrect or at the least misleading?
Dec. 9, 2020
Dr One,
To say that the latter form is "more grammatically correct" implies that the former is "less grammatically correct". I find that misleading, because it's not "less grammatically correct". Unless you have any sources that claim otherwise? As for my previous comment saying "dare do" is more common than "dare to do", I agree it might be more of a regionalism and thus not of much substance.
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Journal 12/07/20 This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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I didn’t dare fall asleep. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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I didn’t dare to fall asleep. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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I think the second sentence is correct because of the rules that there is only a verb in one sentence. I think the second sentence is correct because of the rule |
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“Dare” is a verb, “fall asleep” is a phrase verb, so I put a “to” in front of the “fall asleep” changing it to an infinitive. “Dare” is a verb |
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In this sentence, “I” is subject, “didn’t dare” is predicate, and “to fall asleep” is infinitive as object. In this sentence, “I” is subject, “didn’t dare” is the predicate, and “to fall asleep” is an infinitive a This isn't accurate. "didn't dare to fall asleep" in its entirety is the predicate. |
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That is my understanding of the second sentence. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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I think the first sentence is incorrect because there are two predicate verbs that “didn’t dare” and “fall asleep” in one sentence. I think the first sentence is incorrect because there are two |
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This is against the rules of English grammar. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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English speakers correct the second sentence into the first one. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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I have checked many grammar resources, but I failed to get the correct answers. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
So I posted it here hoping somebody could help me out. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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Thank you guys very much. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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