🚀 go-pugleaf

As a more-or-less native Midwesterner (northeastern Ohio) born of
western-Pennsylvania parents, the construct exemplified by
"The car needs washed" sounds natural to my ears.  However,
I have found that many on the East Coast find this construction
odd, preferring instead "The car needs to be washed" or "The car
needs washing" (although for some reason they find "Your grammar
needs improved" acceptable and occasionally even delightful :-)

I believe that this construction is simply "needs to be + past participle"
with the "to be" omitted, and seems analogous to me to some similar
constructs involving "want + past participle" (omitting "to be") that
I have heard easterners use.  I have heard speakers from as far east
as the Amish country of central Pennsylvania use the "needs washed"
construct, and believe (but would not swear) that I once heard a
New Zealander use it.  I would be interested in any comments the
readers of this newsgroup might have on the origin and extent of
this construct.

Thanks,
Bruce Lucas