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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

It needs done

131 replies

EllaAtLarge · 05/08/2026 14:34

I am sure in the past we used to say “it needs to be done.” Or “it needs doing”.

Why do people now say “it needs done”?

I hate it.

Aibu?

OP posts:
GinAndJuice99 · 05/08/2026 14:35

Literally never heard anyone say this

Duckiewasthefirstniceguy · 05/08/2026 14:35

I’ve honestly never heard anyone say that. Whereabouts are you? Perhaps it’s regional.

BMW58 · 05/08/2026 14:38

GinAndJuice99 · 05/08/2026 14:35

Literally never heard anyone say this

Nor me. Appalling grammar

susiedaisy1912 · 05/08/2026 14:38

Never heard it said that way before

Devilsmommy · 05/08/2026 14:42

I've heard it and yes it's bloody annoying. I'm West Midlands in case it's regional 🤷

InterestedDad37 · 05/08/2026 14:43

Regionally acceptable and occurs frequently, although 'non-standard'.

hattie43 · 05/08/2026 14:49

Never heard it before

Ereshkigalangcleg · 05/08/2026 14:50

Duckiewasthefirstniceguy · 05/08/2026 14:35

I’ve honestly never heard anyone say that. Whereabouts are you? Perhaps it’s regional.

It is but I’m not sure where. It’s quite common on MN.

BIWI · 05/08/2026 14:53

It's a regional thing, mainly Scotland but also the North/Yorkshire

Crusttt · 05/08/2026 14:55

I'm Scottish and fairly well-spoken but had no idea til I moved to England this was non-standard. I remember asking a friend 'will you need fed?' when planning their arrival after a train journey and they were horrified. Lots of widely used dialectal phrases in England sound unpleasant to me though ('I was sat waiting') but it's just what you are used to. Dialectal features are actually as rule-governed as Standard English from a linguistics point of view.

Ohyeahohno · 05/08/2026 14:56

I’ve only seen it on MN in recent months and find it odd.

PolkaDotPorridge · 05/08/2026 14:57

I see similar on social media. It needs gon, in relation to selling/giving an item away. Or the dog needs walked. It’s very irritating.

fashionqueen0123 · 05/08/2026 14:58

Never heard anyone say that!

Original poster
EllaAtLarge · 05/08/2026 14:59

@Crusttt ahhh maybe it sounds better in a beautiful accent! I actually feel better knowing it does have roots in UK dialect. I thought it was going to be some horrible Americanism.

”I was sat [or stood] waiting” sounds totally normal to me!

OP posts:
MsRubee · 05/08/2026 15:00

I say. It needs to be done. I can’t stand “it needs doing “. I don’t care if it’s correct, I find it irritating.

Myblueclematis · 05/08/2026 15:00

I've seen it on FB posts, needs gone, needs done etc. but never heard anyone actually say it thankfully.

Arlanymor · 05/08/2026 15:02

I have a Scottish friend who says this and I have an Irish friend who says: "I seen her in town" as opposed to "I saw her in town." It's just regional dialect and it happens all over the UK in a range of ways. I'm Welsh and speak lots of 'Wenglish' that I'm sure you don't unless you're from here. I bet I don't use 'tidy' in the same way that you do for example.

Velvera · 05/08/2026 15:02

It's Regional. Have you never heard anyone speak regional dialect before?

BauhausOfEliott · 05/08/2026 15:03

I'm interested that people are saying they've never heard this because oddly, the one place I ever see it is actually Mumsnet!

I usually notice it in threads where people are bickering about housework. People will say things like 'A toilet needs bleached every day' or 'DH hasn't unloaded the dishwasher and it needs done before dinner' or something. The other day there was one where someone said 'Did it need cleaned?'

To me, the only normal way of phrasing it is 'Did it need to be cleaned?' or (and this is how I would say it) 'Did it need cleaning?' so I kind of assumed it was a regionally specific thing but no idea which region. I don't find it annoying, because dialects vary and that's fine. But I do always notice it.

Or maybe it's one of those things like people suddenly, nationwide, starting to say 'I'm going gym' or 'I'm going Tesco' instead of 'I'm going to the gym' or 'I'm going to Tesco'.

Original poster
EllaAtLarge · 05/08/2026 15:04

@PolkaDotPorridge yes, “it needs gone” on FB market is a perfect example!

“Priced for a quick sale” was what people used to say, wasn’t it?

OP posts:
AllMyExesWearRolexes · 05/08/2026 15:05

It's Scots and it's fine.

Verv · 05/08/2026 15:06

needs done and needs gone is normal in scotland - its regional.

Original poster
EllaAtLarge · 05/08/2026 15:07

@BauhausOfEliott

My young/female/Asian/west London colleagues ALL say “I’m going supermarket” or “I’m going gym”.

Not sure if it that is influence of age / gender/ethnicity/regional grammar as I don’t get out much (which you could have possibly guessed based on the really dull topic of this thread 😆)

OP posts:
Redbushteaforme · 05/08/2026 15:09

'It needs done' or 'it needs to be done' are both very normal in Scotland. (I am Scottish.) If I heard someone saying 'it needs doing', I would assume that he/she was in/from England. I married into a family from the North of England and that's what they would say. I don't think I would ever say 'it needs gone' though. That seems to have come about from Facebook Marketplace! 'It needs to be gone' sounds better to me.

'I was sat/stood' is not what I would say. I would say 'I was sitting/standing'.

Original poster
EllaAtLarge · 05/08/2026 15:09

AllMyExesWearRolexes · 05/08/2026 15:05

It's Scots and it's fine.

Does it sound weird to you when an English person says it?

Like if I tried to say, “yo dude wassup how’s it hangin’’” it would fall flat in my Radio 4 southern accent.

OP posts: