The demise of “to be” before verbs

[Ted22]

This is something I never came across in my first 30+ years of life, but now in the last couple of years it seems to be everywhere!

”He needs rescued” is an example I just saw. Instead of “He needs to be rescued.”

”It needs washed”

“The cat needs fed”

Etc.

Has anyone else noticed an increase in this? Surely “needs to be” OR “the cat needs feeding” is correct.

I am sure that this has always existed in certain regions, but is it now increasingly used across the UK?

I've not noticed this even in Yorkshire where colloquial language is in frequent use. Where are you located?

Yes, I have noticed this online, I find it annoying!

In the south, but I should have clarified that I mostly mean online! The example was from mumsnet.

For me it 'I'm going toilet' or 'I'm going town'

Oh good I've seen this and it's driving me crazy it's definitely more common

It needs gone

It needs washed

He needs fed

What has happened?!

I’ve noticed this! And the ‘I went Benidorm’ or ‘I’m going Egypt’

That's quite standard in Scottish English and has been for a long time.

The usage you cite in the OP is typically Scottish, AFAIK, @Ted22. I'd class it as a dialect variant.

Ha! Snap, @Habbibu !

I mean needs washed etc. So I don't think you can say one form is correct for the UK. I mean I don't agree with the term correct either, but that's because I come from a descriptive linguistics background

A woman I used to work with from Northern Ireland did it , I think it's regional.

I've never seen it except on this site but I think it might be a Scots usage if I remember. Seethis thread

I worked for an airline. The pilots nearly all introduced themselves on the tannoys as “Ladies and gentlemen, the captain. (No “this is”)

The phrase my bad drives me bonkers too.

I see this on here but just assume that those posters are Scottish. I think this usage is perfectly normal in Scottish English?

I can't stand it, it may be Scottish dialect but I life in the South West and see it on a daily basis on our local Facebook spotted page and marketplace. I don't think there are that many Scots living down here. I think it's part of the culture of it's cool to be a bit dim.

I’ve not come across tho at all 🤔

Yes, either say “it needs to be gone by…” or “I need it gone”.

That sounds as if he's about to burst out through the cabin door and start tap-dancing down the aisle!

Yes it could, delivered boldly!

Half of them mumbled so much that nobody could tell what they were saying anyway. Pilot’s announcements are like doctor’s handwriting!

It's regional, popular here in NI among other places. That's why you see it online, people writing informally from lots of different places. It's not new either, just new to you.

Btw, I'm pretty sure "the cat needs feeding" is also regional and only "the car needs to be fed" is formally correct.

Hearing that makes me very cross.

It's a standard construction in Pitmatic.

I haven't noticed it where I live. There is unfortunately a lot of "Can you borrow me £10" instead of lend and it really irritates me

Oh, so many grammatical errors everywhere, even with professional advertising and journalism. I really can't believe how dreadful it's become. Younger people I know who have studied an English degree, who can't spell or punctuate yet alone put an apostrophe in the correct place!

No, I'm not including anyone with dyslexia or any other issues.

I cringe when I read/hear 'I would of went'. Ugh!

It’s a regional dialect feature called infinitival copula deletion. It’s found quite commonly in American English in regions which had high immigration from Scotland, Ireland and south west England (and I believe it’s still used widely in those places), from which a lot of linguists infer that it’s likely to be an older form of spoken English, especially in those regions, which emigrated over rather than a new fing the yoof are doing.