Jane,

In American English, I agree that they sound normal to me, although not as prevalent as other forms.

Marshall

p.s. If you look at the auxiliary forms (shall-should, can-could,etc), there is no pairing for must, the other form disappearing after Chaucer.

From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jane Saral
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2011 11:47 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Mustn't/needn't

I have a niece in Germany married (for 15 years or so) to a German.  She tutors children in English and asks the following question:

"Do you ever use "needn't or mustn't" when you speak? Maybe it's British because it sure sounds weird to me. Kids have to learn this in 5th grade and to me it seems like unnecessary vocabulary..."

Both sound normal to me. But that might be because I lived and taught in England for several years.

Jane Saral
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