Require to / required to

[mallan1000]

Hello.

I am 59 and I think I have a very good command of my native English language...and its colloquial and grammatical foibles.

I received a letter about a driving offence. I have to go to court.

The letter from the police says..

A. "You will now require to appear at court on ... Date ..."

I would have written...

B. "You are now required to appear at court on ... Date ..."

Which is correct?

First, the police should be getting this right, I will assume that they are and that A is formally correct.

I would have written B, but my English is a bit informal and sloppy these days. In Scotland, we sometimes say things in Scottish English, which is a bit different from English English if you know what I mean.

Please can someone satisfy my need to know, so that I can move on with my life . .

A or B?
Maybe A and B equally valid?

Thanks.

 

[5jj]

Welcome to the forum, mallan.

B. "You are now required to appear at court on ... Date ..."

Which is correct?

That one.

First, the police should be getting this right, I will assume that they are and that A is formally correct.

It isn't.

 

[mallan1000]

Thanks. My Scottish father was an English teacher. I hope the court has a better command of justice than the police administration do of grammar.

 

[BobK]

Please can someone satisfy my need to know, so that I can move on with my life . .

Your instinct is right, as 5jj says. But the form 'you require to' is growing in (ill-informed) popularity (presumably because a first draft had 'you must' and someone in a suit wanted a euphemistic periphrasis). I think 'moving on with your life' will not involve nit-picking in court .

 

[BobK]

PS My geography master (55-odd years ago was a Scot, and he definitely used this form, My grandfather was also (and a stickler for correctness too). I think he may have used it, but he died before I was a reliable observer of grammatical niceties.

 

[Rover_KE]

They probably erroneously think that because 'require' and 'need' are synonymous when followed by a noun (I require/need money for this parking meter), the same applies when followed by an infinitive.

 

[mallan1000]

Thanks for your replies. Using Scottish English has never drawn me any criticism, ever (said he, me, sanctimoniously). My PhD supervisor, however, was a "supper" man and couldn't accept I said I was going for my tea . He condemned my PhD thesis as being written in "funny English" for which I have never forgiven him. I still don't know what he meant, no one else thought that. This person greeted me on my first day of my research in London, thus : "Congratulations on getting a First. We thought you were a good 2-1". . .

 

[Tarheel]

I think you should send them a summons to appear before the grammar judge.