Can we use “dare” in this way?












2
















How dared you speak to me like that?




Is this a correct way to use "dare"? Shouldn't we say?




How dare you speak to me like that?











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    2
















    How dared you speak to me like that?




    Is this a correct way to use "dare"? Shouldn't we say?




    How dare you speak to me like that?











    share|improve this question







    New contributor




    Arthur Hmayakyan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.























      2












      2








      2









      How dared you speak to me like that?




      Is this a correct way to use "dare"? Shouldn't we say?




      How dare you speak to me like that?











      share|improve this question







      New contributor




      Arthur Hmayakyan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.













      How dared you speak to me like that?




      Is this a correct way to use "dare"? Shouldn't we say?




      How dare you speak to me like that?








      grammar






      share|improve this question







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      Arthur Hmayakyan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      share|improve this question







      New contributor




      Arthur Hmayakyan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question






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      asked 1 hour ago









      Arthur HmayakyanArthur Hmayakyan

      141




      141




      New contributor




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      New contributor





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          5 Answers
          5






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          3














          Dare is sometimes called a semi-modal verb, because it sometimes patterns like a modal, and sometimes like a normal verb.



          When it patterns like a modal, it takes inversion, and "not" negation, rather than do-support ("Dare you?" "I dare not").



          When it patterns like a normal verb, it takes do-support: ("He didn't dare go", "Do you dare pick it up?")



          Both forms are found, and are grammatical.



          Personally I am very happy with how dare you? and find how dared you? strange and awkward. But I observe in the iWeb corpus that how dared [pronoun] is slightly more common than how did [pronoun] dare.






          share|improve this answer
























          • I don't know about that "iWeb corpus", but my first thought was to introduce another modal (could) that would allow me to retain dare without inflection (precisely because How dare you! is a "set expression" nowadays). Perhaps iWeb could reinforce what I found from Google Books.

            – FumbleFingers
            12 mins ago



















          1














          Technically speaking, if you were complaining about how someone had spoken to you in the past, you could reasonably use past tense dared.



          But idiomatically, the expression How dare you! [do/say something outrageous] is something of a "fixed expression / set phrase", and I suspect some people might have misgivings about modifying dare for tense like that. To my ear, it would be at least slightly more "natural" (though of course it can't be fully natural, given it's riffing of a "frozen form") to use...




          How could you dare speak to me like that! (using could as the past tense of can)




          But that's a fine point. For most purposes, OP's version (or indeed, How could you have dared...) wouldn't be noticed as either "incorrect" or "unusual".





          EDIT: Or perhaps not such a "fine point" after all. Here are some relevant searches in Google Books...




          How dare you say that! - 25,100 hits for the "idiomatic standard" present tense version
          How could you dare say that! - 211 hits
          How dared you say that! - 3 hits
          How did you dare say that! - 0 hits




          Note that I added the exclamation marks myself (GB doesn't do punctuation). Obviously, that could be followed by a clause (How dare you say that I'm fat!), but that would be the same for all variations, so the relative preferences should still be valid.






          share|improve this answer

































            0














            The second is correct in the present, but if it was in the past, I would say




            How did you dare to speak to me like that?







            share|improve this answer































              0















              How dared you to speak to me like that




              is fine. It refers to a past event.




              How dare you speak to me like that




              is fine. It refers to a current event.




              How dared you speak to me like that




              is just wrong. It scrambles the time markers in what is an idiomatic construction.



              EDIT: Weather Vane and I agree on the substance. And




              How did you dare to speak to me like that




              seems far more euphonious than "how dared you," but there is a perfectly acceptable past form of the verb "dare."






              share|improve this answer
























              • I don't agree with much of this answer. How dared you is using dare as a modal, and in that form, it doesn't take a to infinitive (see [this])(grammaring.com/the-semi-modal-dare). On the other hand, How dared you speak to me like that is perfectly consistent time-wise, because speak is a bare infinitive, with no tense. Compare How can you speak like that? (present) vs How could you speak like that? (past).

                – Colin Fine
                37 mins ago













              • @ColinFine: I didn't have the relevant knowledge (or terminology! :) to hand when I somewhat cautiously advanced my proposition that it doesn't feel quite right to explicitly change the tense of dare itself in this particular "remonstrance, expostulation, call-it-what-you-will". But after posting it, and seeing that there were two other answers disagreeing with what I thought, I was heartened to find what I consider "supportive data" from Google Books!

                – FumbleFingers
                18 mins ago



















              0














              "How dare you/he/she/they [do something (present tense)]" is a set expression conveying present anger that an action is being done, has just been done, or was done in the more distant past. The tense of 'dare' does not change, nor does the tense of the verb of the action being complained about.



              I come into my room. You have a glass in your hand. How dare you drink my whisky!



              You tell me that your brother called me a fool yesterday. How dare he say that!



              I recall that a politician, who I don't support, did a bad thing 20 years ago. How dare he do that!



              Although the expression is phrased like a question, it is not one. If we wish to know how someone found the courage to do a dangerous thing in the past, we would phrase the question conventionally. We might say "How did you dare to attack the gang of thugs, armed only with a stick?", or "How did he dare to enter the lion's cage, knowing it might kill him?"



              To express sorrow or anger that someone behaved badly, we could ask e.g. "How could you speak to my grandmother like that?"






              share|improve this answer























                Your Answer








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                5 Answers
                5






                active

                oldest

                votes








                5 Answers
                5






                active

                oldest

                votes









                active

                oldest

                votes






                active

                oldest

                votes









                3














                Dare is sometimes called a semi-modal verb, because it sometimes patterns like a modal, and sometimes like a normal verb.



                When it patterns like a modal, it takes inversion, and "not" negation, rather than do-support ("Dare you?" "I dare not").



                When it patterns like a normal verb, it takes do-support: ("He didn't dare go", "Do you dare pick it up?")



                Both forms are found, and are grammatical.



                Personally I am very happy with how dare you? and find how dared you? strange and awkward. But I observe in the iWeb corpus that how dared [pronoun] is slightly more common than how did [pronoun] dare.






                share|improve this answer
























                • I don't know about that "iWeb corpus", but my first thought was to introduce another modal (could) that would allow me to retain dare without inflection (precisely because How dare you! is a "set expression" nowadays). Perhaps iWeb could reinforce what I found from Google Books.

                  – FumbleFingers
                  12 mins ago
















                3














                Dare is sometimes called a semi-modal verb, because it sometimes patterns like a modal, and sometimes like a normal verb.



                When it patterns like a modal, it takes inversion, and "not" negation, rather than do-support ("Dare you?" "I dare not").



                When it patterns like a normal verb, it takes do-support: ("He didn't dare go", "Do you dare pick it up?")



                Both forms are found, and are grammatical.



                Personally I am very happy with how dare you? and find how dared you? strange and awkward. But I observe in the iWeb corpus that how dared [pronoun] is slightly more common than how did [pronoun] dare.






                share|improve this answer
























                • I don't know about that "iWeb corpus", but my first thought was to introduce another modal (could) that would allow me to retain dare without inflection (precisely because How dare you! is a "set expression" nowadays). Perhaps iWeb could reinforce what I found from Google Books.

                  – FumbleFingers
                  12 mins ago














                3












                3








                3







                Dare is sometimes called a semi-modal verb, because it sometimes patterns like a modal, and sometimes like a normal verb.



                When it patterns like a modal, it takes inversion, and "not" negation, rather than do-support ("Dare you?" "I dare not").



                When it patterns like a normal verb, it takes do-support: ("He didn't dare go", "Do you dare pick it up?")



                Both forms are found, and are grammatical.



                Personally I am very happy with how dare you? and find how dared you? strange and awkward. But I observe in the iWeb corpus that how dared [pronoun] is slightly more common than how did [pronoun] dare.






                share|improve this answer













                Dare is sometimes called a semi-modal verb, because it sometimes patterns like a modal, and sometimes like a normal verb.



                When it patterns like a modal, it takes inversion, and "not" negation, rather than do-support ("Dare you?" "I dare not").



                When it patterns like a normal verb, it takes do-support: ("He didn't dare go", "Do you dare pick it up?")



                Both forms are found, and are grammatical.



                Personally I am very happy with how dare you? and find how dared you? strange and awkward. But I observe in the iWeb corpus that how dared [pronoun] is slightly more common than how did [pronoun] dare.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered 40 mins ago









                Colin FineColin Fine

                28.9k24156




                28.9k24156













                • I don't know about that "iWeb corpus", but my first thought was to introduce another modal (could) that would allow me to retain dare without inflection (precisely because How dare you! is a "set expression" nowadays). Perhaps iWeb could reinforce what I found from Google Books.

                  – FumbleFingers
                  12 mins ago



















                • I don't know about that "iWeb corpus", but my first thought was to introduce another modal (could) that would allow me to retain dare without inflection (precisely because How dare you! is a "set expression" nowadays). Perhaps iWeb could reinforce what I found from Google Books.

                  – FumbleFingers
                  12 mins ago

















                I don't know about that "iWeb corpus", but my first thought was to introduce another modal (could) that would allow me to retain dare without inflection (precisely because How dare you! is a "set expression" nowadays). Perhaps iWeb could reinforce what I found from Google Books.

                – FumbleFingers
                12 mins ago





                I don't know about that "iWeb corpus", but my first thought was to introduce another modal (could) that would allow me to retain dare without inflection (precisely because How dare you! is a "set expression" nowadays). Perhaps iWeb could reinforce what I found from Google Books.

                – FumbleFingers
                12 mins ago













                1














                Technically speaking, if you were complaining about how someone had spoken to you in the past, you could reasonably use past tense dared.



                But idiomatically, the expression How dare you! [do/say something outrageous] is something of a "fixed expression / set phrase", and I suspect some people might have misgivings about modifying dare for tense like that. To my ear, it would be at least slightly more "natural" (though of course it can't be fully natural, given it's riffing of a "frozen form") to use...




                How could you dare speak to me like that! (using could as the past tense of can)




                But that's a fine point. For most purposes, OP's version (or indeed, How could you have dared...) wouldn't be noticed as either "incorrect" or "unusual".





                EDIT: Or perhaps not such a "fine point" after all. Here are some relevant searches in Google Books...




                How dare you say that! - 25,100 hits for the "idiomatic standard" present tense version
                How could you dare say that! - 211 hits
                How dared you say that! - 3 hits
                How did you dare say that! - 0 hits




                Note that I added the exclamation marks myself (GB doesn't do punctuation). Obviously, that could be followed by a clause (How dare you say that I'm fat!), but that would be the same for all variations, so the relative preferences should still be valid.






                share|improve this answer






























                  1














                  Technically speaking, if you were complaining about how someone had spoken to you in the past, you could reasonably use past tense dared.



                  But idiomatically, the expression How dare you! [do/say something outrageous] is something of a "fixed expression / set phrase", and I suspect some people might have misgivings about modifying dare for tense like that. To my ear, it would be at least slightly more "natural" (though of course it can't be fully natural, given it's riffing of a "frozen form") to use...




                  How could you dare speak to me like that! (using could as the past tense of can)




                  But that's a fine point. For most purposes, OP's version (or indeed, How could you have dared...) wouldn't be noticed as either "incorrect" or "unusual".





                  EDIT: Or perhaps not such a "fine point" after all. Here are some relevant searches in Google Books...




                  How dare you say that! - 25,100 hits for the "idiomatic standard" present tense version
                  How could you dare say that! - 211 hits
                  How dared you say that! - 3 hits
                  How did you dare say that! - 0 hits




                  Note that I added the exclamation marks myself (GB doesn't do punctuation). Obviously, that could be followed by a clause (How dare you say that I'm fat!), but that would be the same for all variations, so the relative preferences should still be valid.






                  share|improve this answer




























                    1












                    1








                    1







                    Technically speaking, if you were complaining about how someone had spoken to you in the past, you could reasonably use past tense dared.



                    But idiomatically, the expression How dare you! [do/say something outrageous] is something of a "fixed expression / set phrase", and I suspect some people might have misgivings about modifying dare for tense like that. To my ear, it would be at least slightly more "natural" (though of course it can't be fully natural, given it's riffing of a "frozen form") to use...




                    How could you dare speak to me like that! (using could as the past tense of can)




                    But that's a fine point. For most purposes, OP's version (or indeed, How could you have dared...) wouldn't be noticed as either "incorrect" or "unusual".





                    EDIT: Or perhaps not such a "fine point" after all. Here are some relevant searches in Google Books...




                    How dare you say that! - 25,100 hits for the "idiomatic standard" present tense version
                    How could you dare say that! - 211 hits
                    How dared you say that! - 3 hits
                    How did you dare say that! - 0 hits




                    Note that I added the exclamation marks myself (GB doesn't do punctuation). Obviously, that could be followed by a clause (How dare you say that I'm fat!), but that would be the same for all variations, so the relative preferences should still be valid.






                    share|improve this answer















                    Technically speaking, if you were complaining about how someone had spoken to you in the past, you could reasonably use past tense dared.



                    But idiomatically, the expression How dare you! [do/say something outrageous] is something of a "fixed expression / set phrase", and I suspect some people might have misgivings about modifying dare for tense like that. To my ear, it would be at least slightly more "natural" (though of course it can't be fully natural, given it's riffing of a "frozen form") to use...




                    How could you dare speak to me like that! (using could as the past tense of can)




                    But that's a fine point. For most purposes, OP's version (or indeed, How could you have dared...) wouldn't be noticed as either "incorrect" or "unusual".





                    EDIT: Or perhaps not such a "fine point" after all. Here are some relevant searches in Google Books...




                    How dare you say that! - 25,100 hits for the "idiomatic standard" present tense version
                    How could you dare say that! - 211 hits
                    How dared you say that! - 3 hits
                    How did you dare say that! - 0 hits




                    Note that I added the exclamation marks myself (GB doesn't do punctuation). Obviously, that could be followed by a clause (How dare you say that I'm fat!), but that would be the same for all variations, so the relative preferences should still be valid.







                    share|improve this answer














                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer








                    edited 25 mins ago

























                    answered 43 mins ago









                    FumbleFingersFumbleFingers

                    44.2k154118




                    44.2k154118























                        0














                        The second is correct in the present, but if it was in the past, I would say




                        How did you dare to speak to me like that?







                        share|improve this answer




























                          0














                          The second is correct in the present, but if it was in the past, I would say




                          How did you dare to speak to me like that?







                          share|improve this answer


























                            0












                            0








                            0







                            The second is correct in the present, but if it was in the past, I would say




                            How did you dare to speak to me like that?







                            share|improve this answer













                            The second is correct in the present, but if it was in the past, I would say




                            How did you dare to speak to me like that?








                            share|improve this answer












                            share|improve this answer



                            share|improve this answer










                            answered 53 mins ago









                            Weather VaneWeather Vane

                            3,7641417




                            3,7641417























                                0















                                How dared you to speak to me like that




                                is fine. It refers to a past event.




                                How dare you speak to me like that




                                is fine. It refers to a current event.




                                How dared you speak to me like that




                                is just wrong. It scrambles the time markers in what is an idiomatic construction.



                                EDIT: Weather Vane and I agree on the substance. And




                                How did you dare to speak to me like that




                                seems far more euphonious than "how dared you," but there is a perfectly acceptable past form of the verb "dare."






                                share|improve this answer
























                                • I don't agree with much of this answer. How dared you is using dare as a modal, and in that form, it doesn't take a to infinitive (see [this])(grammaring.com/the-semi-modal-dare). On the other hand, How dared you speak to me like that is perfectly consistent time-wise, because speak is a bare infinitive, with no tense. Compare How can you speak like that? (present) vs How could you speak like that? (past).

                                  – Colin Fine
                                  37 mins ago













                                • @ColinFine: I didn't have the relevant knowledge (or terminology! :) to hand when I somewhat cautiously advanced my proposition that it doesn't feel quite right to explicitly change the tense of dare itself in this particular "remonstrance, expostulation, call-it-what-you-will". But after posting it, and seeing that there were two other answers disagreeing with what I thought, I was heartened to find what I consider "supportive data" from Google Books!

                                  – FumbleFingers
                                  18 mins ago
















                                0















                                How dared you to speak to me like that




                                is fine. It refers to a past event.




                                How dare you speak to me like that




                                is fine. It refers to a current event.




                                How dared you speak to me like that




                                is just wrong. It scrambles the time markers in what is an idiomatic construction.



                                EDIT: Weather Vane and I agree on the substance. And




                                How did you dare to speak to me like that




                                seems far more euphonious than "how dared you," but there is a perfectly acceptable past form of the verb "dare."






                                share|improve this answer
























                                • I don't agree with much of this answer. How dared you is using dare as a modal, and in that form, it doesn't take a to infinitive (see [this])(grammaring.com/the-semi-modal-dare). On the other hand, How dared you speak to me like that is perfectly consistent time-wise, because speak is a bare infinitive, with no tense. Compare How can you speak like that? (present) vs How could you speak like that? (past).

                                  – Colin Fine
                                  37 mins ago













                                • @ColinFine: I didn't have the relevant knowledge (or terminology! :) to hand when I somewhat cautiously advanced my proposition that it doesn't feel quite right to explicitly change the tense of dare itself in this particular "remonstrance, expostulation, call-it-what-you-will". But after posting it, and seeing that there were two other answers disagreeing with what I thought, I was heartened to find what I consider "supportive data" from Google Books!

                                  – FumbleFingers
                                  18 mins ago














                                0












                                0








                                0








                                How dared you to speak to me like that




                                is fine. It refers to a past event.




                                How dare you speak to me like that




                                is fine. It refers to a current event.




                                How dared you speak to me like that




                                is just wrong. It scrambles the time markers in what is an idiomatic construction.



                                EDIT: Weather Vane and I agree on the substance. And




                                How did you dare to speak to me like that




                                seems far more euphonious than "how dared you," but there is a perfectly acceptable past form of the verb "dare."






                                share|improve this answer














                                How dared you to speak to me like that




                                is fine. It refers to a past event.




                                How dare you speak to me like that




                                is fine. It refers to a current event.




                                How dared you speak to me like that




                                is just wrong. It scrambles the time markers in what is an idiomatic construction.



                                EDIT: Weather Vane and I agree on the substance. And




                                How did you dare to speak to me like that




                                seems far more euphonious than "how dared you," but there is a perfectly acceptable past form of the verb "dare."







                                share|improve this answer












                                share|improve this answer



                                share|improve this answer










                                answered 52 mins ago









                                Jeff MorrowJeff Morrow

                                9,9461125




                                9,9461125













                                • I don't agree with much of this answer. How dared you is using dare as a modal, and in that form, it doesn't take a to infinitive (see [this])(grammaring.com/the-semi-modal-dare). On the other hand, How dared you speak to me like that is perfectly consistent time-wise, because speak is a bare infinitive, with no tense. Compare How can you speak like that? (present) vs How could you speak like that? (past).

                                  – Colin Fine
                                  37 mins ago













                                • @ColinFine: I didn't have the relevant knowledge (or terminology! :) to hand when I somewhat cautiously advanced my proposition that it doesn't feel quite right to explicitly change the tense of dare itself in this particular "remonstrance, expostulation, call-it-what-you-will". But after posting it, and seeing that there were two other answers disagreeing with what I thought, I was heartened to find what I consider "supportive data" from Google Books!

                                  – FumbleFingers
                                  18 mins ago



















                                • I don't agree with much of this answer. How dared you is using dare as a modal, and in that form, it doesn't take a to infinitive (see [this])(grammaring.com/the-semi-modal-dare). On the other hand, How dared you speak to me like that is perfectly consistent time-wise, because speak is a bare infinitive, with no tense. Compare How can you speak like that? (present) vs How could you speak like that? (past).

                                  – Colin Fine
                                  37 mins ago













                                • @ColinFine: I didn't have the relevant knowledge (or terminology! :) to hand when I somewhat cautiously advanced my proposition that it doesn't feel quite right to explicitly change the tense of dare itself in this particular "remonstrance, expostulation, call-it-what-you-will". But after posting it, and seeing that there were two other answers disagreeing with what I thought, I was heartened to find what I consider "supportive data" from Google Books!

                                  – FumbleFingers
                                  18 mins ago

















                                I don't agree with much of this answer. How dared you is using dare as a modal, and in that form, it doesn't take a to infinitive (see [this])(grammaring.com/the-semi-modal-dare). On the other hand, How dared you speak to me like that is perfectly consistent time-wise, because speak is a bare infinitive, with no tense. Compare How can you speak like that? (present) vs How could you speak like that? (past).

                                – Colin Fine
                                37 mins ago







                                I don't agree with much of this answer. How dared you is using dare as a modal, and in that form, it doesn't take a to infinitive (see [this])(grammaring.com/the-semi-modal-dare). On the other hand, How dared you speak to me like that is perfectly consistent time-wise, because speak is a bare infinitive, with no tense. Compare How can you speak like that? (present) vs How could you speak like that? (past).

                                – Colin Fine
                                37 mins ago















                                @ColinFine: I didn't have the relevant knowledge (or terminology! :) to hand when I somewhat cautiously advanced my proposition that it doesn't feel quite right to explicitly change the tense of dare itself in this particular "remonstrance, expostulation, call-it-what-you-will". But after posting it, and seeing that there were two other answers disagreeing with what I thought, I was heartened to find what I consider "supportive data" from Google Books!

                                – FumbleFingers
                                18 mins ago





                                @ColinFine: I didn't have the relevant knowledge (or terminology! :) to hand when I somewhat cautiously advanced my proposition that it doesn't feel quite right to explicitly change the tense of dare itself in this particular "remonstrance, expostulation, call-it-what-you-will". But after posting it, and seeing that there were two other answers disagreeing with what I thought, I was heartened to find what I consider "supportive data" from Google Books!

                                – FumbleFingers
                                18 mins ago











                                0














                                "How dare you/he/she/they [do something (present tense)]" is a set expression conveying present anger that an action is being done, has just been done, or was done in the more distant past. The tense of 'dare' does not change, nor does the tense of the verb of the action being complained about.



                                I come into my room. You have a glass in your hand. How dare you drink my whisky!



                                You tell me that your brother called me a fool yesterday. How dare he say that!



                                I recall that a politician, who I don't support, did a bad thing 20 years ago. How dare he do that!



                                Although the expression is phrased like a question, it is not one. If we wish to know how someone found the courage to do a dangerous thing in the past, we would phrase the question conventionally. We might say "How did you dare to attack the gang of thugs, armed only with a stick?", or "How did he dare to enter the lion's cage, knowing it might kill him?"



                                To express sorrow or anger that someone behaved badly, we could ask e.g. "How could you speak to my grandmother like that?"






                                share|improve this answer




























                                  0














                                  "How dare you/he/she/they [do something (present tense)]" is a set expression conveying present anger that an action is being done, has just been done, or was done in the more distant past. The tense of 'dare' does not change, nor does the tense of the verb of the action being complained about.



                                  I come into my room. You have a glass in your hand. How dare you drink my whisky!



                                  You tell me that your brother called me a fool yesterday. How dare he say that!



                                  I recall that a politician, who I don't support, did a bad thing 20 years ago. How dare he do that!



                                  Although the expression is phrased like a question, it is not one. If we wish to know how someone found the courage to do a dangerous thing in the past, we would phrase the question conventionally. We might say "How did you dare to attack the gang of thugs, armed only with a stick?", or "How did he dare to enter the lion's cage, knowing it might kill him?"



                                  To express sorrow or anger that someone behaved badly, we could ask e.g. "How could you speak to my grandmother like that?"






                                  share|improve this answer


























                                    0












                                    0








                                    0







                                    "How dare you/he/she/they [do something (present tense)]" is a set expression conveying present anger that an action is being done, has just been done, or was done in the more distant past. The tense of 'dare' does not change, nor does the tense of the verb of the action being complained about.



                                    I come into my room. You have a glass in your hand. How dare you drink my whisky!



                                    You tell me that your brother called me a fool yesterday. How dare he say that!



                                    I recall that a politician, who I don't support, did a bad thing 20 years ago. How dare he do that!



                                    Although the expression is phrased like a question, it is not one. If we wish to know how someone found the courage to do a dangerous thing in the past, we would phrase the question conventionally. We might say "How did you dare to attack the gang of thugs, armed only with a stick?", or "How did he dare to enter the lion's cage, knowing it might kill him?"



                                    To express sorrow or anger that someone behaved badly, we could ask e.g. "How could you speak to my grandmother like that?"






                                    share|improve this answer













                                    "How dare you/he/she/they [do something (present tense)]" is a set expression conveying present anger that an action is being done, has just been done, or was done in the more distant past. The tense of 'dare' does not change, nor does the tense of the verb of the action being complained about.



                                    I come into my room. You have a glass in your hand. How dare you drink my whisky!



                                    You tell me that your brother called me a fool yesterday. How dare he say that!



                                    I recall that a politician, who I don't support, did a bad thing 20 years ago. How dare he do that!



                                    Although the expression is phrased like a question, it is not one. If we wish to know how someone found the courage to do a dangerous thing in the past, we would phrase the question conventionally. We might say "How did you dare to attack the gang of thugs, armed only with a stick?", or "How did he dare to enter the lion's cage, knowing it might kill him?"



                                    To express sorrow or anger that someone behaved badly, we could ask e.g. "How could you speak to my grandmother like that?"







                                    share|improve this answer












                                    share|improve this answer



                                    share|improve this answer










                                    answered 25 mins ago









                                    Michael HarveyMichael Harvey

                                    13.1k11330




                                    13.1k11330






















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                                        Arthur Hmayakyan is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.













                                        Arthur Hmayakyan is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












                                        Arthur Hmayakyan is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
















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