1. You needn't have called a doctor.
2. You needn't have made a phone call to a doctor.
3. You needen't have gone to the hospital to bring the doctor.
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Does #1 mean #2 or #3? Did the person go to the doctor to ask him to come? Or did the person make a phone call to the doctor?
1 and 2 mean approximately the same thing.
3 means "you" went to the hospital and got the doctor, and then the doctor came back (home?) with you.
To determine the meaning of statement #1, let's break down each sentence and analyze the possible interpretations.
1. You needn't have called a doctor.
In this sentence, it suggests that it was not necessary for you to call a doctor. The action of calling a doctor has already taken place, indicating that it was not required. However, without additional context, it is unclear whether the person actually called the doctor to come or simply made a phone call to the doctor without the intention of requesting their presence.
2. You needn't have made a phone call to a doctor.
This sentence explicitly mentions making a phone call to a doctor. It indicates that the person made a phone call to a doctor. However, it doesn't specify the purpose of the call (e.g., whether it was to request their presence). Without further context, the specific intention behind the call remains ambiguous.
3. You needn't have gone to the hospital to bring the doctor.
This statement suggests that the person went to the hospital to bring the doctor with them. The purpose of going to the hospital seems to be to fetch the doctor, but it doesn't clarify whether the person actually made the effort to contact the doctor or not.
Based on these explanations and without more context, we cannot definitively determine which interpretation is correct. However, it seems most likely that statement #1 (You needn't have called a doctor) refers to either #2 (You needn't have made a phone call to a doctor) or #3 (You needn't have gone to the hospital to bring the doctor).