Should you say there need be or there need to be?

"There need be" is an improper Wording and usage of the idiom "if need be." If you are using the Word "there," the correct Wording is either, "there should be..." or "there need/needs to be..." If it makes it easier to understand, turn the Word order around: "need to be there."

"There need to be" is plural. If you want to say something in the singular, you need to say "There needs to be..." The plurality of the verb "need" must agree with the antecedent following the participle "be." In the following examples, the plural verb "need" agrees with the antecedent "people."

"There need to be" can be used in either a positive or a negative statement. Both of the following are correct:

"There need to be seven people present to make a quorum."

"There do not need to be so many people present to make a quorum."

However, the preferred Wording would be, "Seven people need to be present to make a quorum," and "There do not need to be so many people to make a quorum." Using both "there" and "present" is unnecessary, unless you need to clarify exactly where something or someone is present.