Dare

navigator, dear. English grammar is odd, honey. Past tense in a sentence would be:

He dared to open the letter addressed to me yesterday

Present tense. How dare he open my letter.

Future tense. He better not dare to open any letter of mine in the future.

There is something about the verb "dare" that drifts towards the present tense.

"How dare you!" "You did something really offensive last week, but I'm insulted about it Right Now!"

"Don't you dare!" "In the future you may consider performing some offensive act, but I'm telling you here and now that would be a bad idea."

Hi Letty , Hi Noddy

I will tell you what I understand so far. if someone opened my letter

yesterday, I think I would say to him ( when I know today ) , how dared

you open my letter ( because it's past ) . But, if he does this always

without me knowing that ( maybe I was outside for a time), I would say

to hime when coming back, how dare you open my letter , or how dare

he opens my letter, brcause this would be like a habit.


I know, I'm wrong.

navigator, he might have opened the letter yesterday, but you
are outraged over it today, thus "how dare you!" So the tense
is not applied to the time he opened the letter, it is applied to
you finding out and telling him at that moment.

Listen to the girls, navigator. I think you've got the grammer and syntax on your side, but I've never, ever heard "How dared you!?" You might say "How did you dare?", but I've never heard that, either.

In a sense, "dare" isn't simply a verb, but a characteristic way of acting. The "dare" might be in the past, but it is manifest in the present.

Roger--

Girls? How dare you!

Ulp! At least nobody called me on the use of the interrobang.

Noddy, tell me what you prefer, and you shall have it.

Hey, Rog. You can call me a girl anytime you like, buddy. <smile>

I think the use of colloquialisms(using different names for the same things) is the most confusing thing in English, navigator, and very difficult to explain in terms of grammar. Also, there are "idioms" that are expressions that don't mean exactly what they say. For example, the expression "by the way" does not mean what it says. It means "incidentally". Hope we haven't confused you.

C.J., how did you learn to speak and write English so well? hamburger says that he learned it through music.

Miss Letty, thank you! I learned English in school.

Well, C.J. I am for school learning, of course. I recall the time when I was shocked that English was your second language.

Roger--

You may address me as "Formidable Woman"--at least once.

You're too kind, Miss LEtty,and Roger: you can call me girl anytime

Girl?

Alas for civilization--at least my pigheaded corner of civilization.

Hi everybody, girls

Ok, you are right, I got that. Dare can be used as ordinary verb or

auxiliary, and it has a past , example,

Past: you can either say I didn't dare to go there ( ordinary ) or I dared

not to go there ( auxiliary ).

Also, How dared he complain? ( I'm indignant because he complained )

I found these in my grammar book. Is it me or the book


I daresay you are right, but the grammar book says the above.

I believe the book is right, especially if you are being tested on the material. For everyday use, go with the Formidable Women's advice.

I know some of the Brits here will purse their lips at referencing an American Dictionary, but I think the American Heritage elucidates the issue pretty well:

Usage Note: Depending on its sense, the verb dare sometimes behaves like an auxiliary verb (such as can or may) and sometimes like a main verb (such as want or try). When used as an auxiliary verb, dare does not agree with its subject: Let him say that if he dare. It also does not combine with do in questions, negations, or certain other constructions: Dare we tell her the truth? I dare not mention their names. Finally, it does not take to before the complement verb that follows it: If you dare breathe a word about it I'll never speak to you again. When used as a main verb, dare does agree with its subject (If he dares to show up at her house I'll be surprised), and it does combine with do (Did anyone dare to admit it?). It may optionally take to before the verb following it: No one dares (or dares to) speak freely about the political situation. The auxiliary forms are used primarily in present tense questions, negations, imperatives, and conditional clauses. These forms differ subtly in meaning from the main verb forms in that they emphasize the attitude or involvement of the speaker while the main verb forms present a more objective situation. Thus How dare she take the exam without ever once coming to class? expresses indignation at the student's action, whereas How did she dare to take the exam without ever once coming to class? is a genuine request for information. When dare is used as a transitive verb meaning "challenge," only main verb forms are possible and to is required: Anyone who dares (not dare) him to attempt (not just attempt) it will be sorry.

Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition Copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V., further reproduction and distribution restricted in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved.

Roger--

All is forgiven.

Navigator--

I agree with Roger. Remember the text for the test.

For other matters, if you dare, beware.

Thanks everybody, thanks Noddy, I will remember that.