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needs doing / needs to be done?

7 replies
:
Hi people!

Which of these options is correct?

A lot__________ to the house before we can move in.

a) needs be doing

b) needs done

c) needs doing

d) needs to do

I'd choose option c), which would be equivalent to "a lot needs to be done to the house...", wouldn't it?

I couldn't get this one straight away, for I had never before found that construction. I had come across "Your hair needs cutting" or "My shoes need repairing", but never such a sentence as the one above, which I find rather confusing. Could you explain which option is the correct one and why?

Thaks a lot!

Mara.
Full Member169
:
In my opinion, the correct form is "needs to be done", which is not shown.
"needs doing" is heard often enough to make it seem just barely acceptable to me, although I would probably not generate it myself.
"needs done" is regional and heard often enough, but it is regarded as non-standard by most writers of grammar books.

CJ
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:
I think that is British lanuage. I think you are right when you say needs doing = needs to be done.
Full Member414
:
"Needs doing" sounds fine to me, but I appreciate it may be British rather than American English.
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:
Would "this house needs doing" be acceptable? It sounds right to me, but... Otherwise I agree with CJ.
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:
Out of the options given it can only be 'c'. I'm British, though. To say that here would be perfectly acceptable. I don't know what is acceptable to the American ear, though.
Full Member144
:
What my E-J dictionary tells is as follows:

[S needs doing = S needs to be done, (non standard: Pittsburgh dialect) S needs done]
"S needs doing" is commoner than "S needs to be done" and the gerund "doing" used here has a passive sense.
(EX-1) He will need looking after.
(EX-2) The house needs repairing.
 = The house needs to be repaired.
= We need to repair the house.
paco
Senior Member4,095
Retired Moderator: A moderator who has retired.
Anonymous:
I go for the last one for sure.

* when it comes 'A lot' it shows a singularity

* and two verbs can't come together without a helping verb or preposition

Hope you got it!

Veronica
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