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Page 315 of the Collins English Usage reads

If you are talking about the past and you want to say that it was not necessary for someone to do something on a particular occasion, you say that they didn't need/have to.

I didn't need to say anything at all. Fortunately, she didn't have to choose.

However, in a reporting clause you can use needn't.

They knew they needn't bother about me.

If someone has done something and you want to say that it was not necessary, you can say that they needn't have done it.

I was wondering whether you were getting properly fed and looked after, but I needn't have worried, need I?

However, I cannot see any difference of meaning/usage between Didn't need to vs Needn't have done

GJC
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  • I didn't have/need to worry and I needn't have worried carry the same semantics. However, not everyone is familiar with needn't have, especially AmE speakers. – Lambie Sep 14 '20 at 19:34
  • “ I didn't need to soy anything at oil.” Seriously? On p. 315 of Collins English Usage? Does that exist? How about a link? – Xanne Sep 14 '20 at 20:23
  • I’m voting to close this question because it’s copied from another forum and includes as an example “I didn't need to soy anything at oil.“ Thus troll. – Xanne Sep 14 '20 at 20:52
  • @Xanne - Soy/oil might just be an OCR error. – Jim Sep 14 '20 at 21:57
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    @Lambie: Seriously??? Americans are perfectly capable of understanding needn't have, and even use it occasionally. See Google Ngrams. – Peter Shor Sep 14 '20 at 22:06
  • @PeterShor I never said Americans don't understand it or use it. But I do say it is not exactly heard down at your local convenience store where, thank God, Google has not yet poked its ugly nose in. But you needn't believe me, need you? The Brits use is much more frequently, and often without a tag at the end. – Lambie Sep 15 '20 at 14:58
  • @Lambie what do you mean by "a tag at the end"? – GJC Sep 15 '20 at 15:44
  • Tags are all those little auxiliary verbs at the end of spoken utterances or sentences. Often, non-natives have a terrible time with them. For example: I don't approve of hunting, do you? They hated that trip, didn't they? I'd go, wouldn't you? – Lambie Sep 15 '20 at 16:16
  • @Lambie why is that related to needn't have? – GJC Sep 15 '20 at 16:31
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    So, with "needn't have done something", one would not usually use a tag. However, with They didn't need to do it, did they? Or: They didn't have to do it, did they? tags are used. But you needn't worry about all this. :) – Lambie Sep 15 '20 at 16:31
  • Does this answer your question? Is there another way to say "needn't have done"? – niamulbengali Jan 21 '21 at 00:43

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