Weird grammar thing: omitting "to be" in "needs to be..."?

Question

One of my employees does the weirdest thing: she almost never says "to be". I thought I was imagining it until just now, when I saw a post-it on a file that reads "Needs Archived".

Now I'm sure that I've also heard "That member needs called." and "My oil needs changed." I'm not sure if she does it with words other than "needs." I can't think of anything at the moment.

Is this some kind of regional anomoly? She's from West Virginia. I've lived all up and down the East Coast and have never heard this.

I didn't say I had a problem with it! I just wanted to know if it's just her or if it a regional thing since it isn't something I've heard before. Sheesh - it isn't like I'm going to fire someone over her sentence structure!

Answer 1

it's a western PA, WV thing...i don't think most people realize what they are saying is grammatically incorrect. i still say "pop" but i don't say "my car needs washed" anymore :)

Answer 2

I guess it's a regional thing, i'm from western PA and everyone i know around here says "needs" instead of "needs to be." I never really thought about it until now...

Answer 3

I couldn't say for sure but I'm guessing it does have something to do with where she grew up. I have relatives out that way and I'm pretty sure they say the same thing. They also say warsh for wash etc. I love listening to my mom when she is thinking about going to visit because her accent comes back.

Answer 4

This is a new one for me as well. I would have never thought to omit "to be" from a sentence or statement. Perhaps she is speaking some sort of short-hand, or missed that section of her English classes.

Very odd indeed. Merry, Merry.

Answer 5

My husband if from Ohio and says the same thing.

Answer 6

sounds like a personal problem to me!~~Yours!~~