# Grammar question: Dropping "to be" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 9, 2008, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-dropping-to-be/436877 "2008-02-09T00:42:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hellestal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hellestal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hellestal)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-dropping-to-be/436877/21 "2008-02-10T00:10:16Z")
Missouri born, and I say that.\* Never been to Pittsburgh, no family connection either. It seems a little more widespread than most people think, but still not too terribly common. - Not during a job interview, though. Only after I get hired. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-dropping-to-be/436877/22 "2008-02-10T00:10:26Z")
[QUOTE=susan] Western areas, too. I think it’s ultimately a German construction (I have inlaws who say, “The floor needs washed”). [/QUOTE] My Pittsburgh relatives (all of German ancestry, incidentally) would say, “The floor needs _warshed_.” But if you ask too many questions about it, you’re just being a nebbish. ---
**Author:** ![Solfy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Solfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Solfy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-dropping-to-be/436877/23 "2008-02-10T00:46:41Z")
[QUOTE=IntelSoldier] 'Burgh doper here. It’s a dropped gerund for sure. When I say “My car needs washed.”, what I mean is “My car needs washing”. I’ve never noticed it before. Thanks for pointing it out. [/QUOTE] I think it’s funny that you say that, because to me it’s without a doubt a dropped infinitive. I might say, “My car needs to be washed,” but more commonly I’d say it needs washed. (and boy, does it ever!) I would never think to say, “My car needs washing.” (and it does \*not \*need “warshing” - even I have my limits) I did not know that dropping “to be” was incorrect until called out on it by a coworker when I was in my 20s. I can’t say I’ve quit doing it, either. The point gets across either way, no? ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-dropping-to-be/436877/24 "2008-02-10T00:48:47Z")
My wife does this, which leads me to occasionally pull my children aside and whisper corrections into their impressionable young ears. 🙂 She was raised in Chicago, but may have have gotten this from her Southern Indiana parents. Southern Indiana has a strong German (and Amish) heritage in some areas. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-dropping-to-be/436877/25 "2008-02-10T08:29:25Z")
I can tell you this construction is common in SE Pennsylvania, where I grew up, as well. I was saying it long before I moved to Pittsburgh. I am also pleased to note that it is contagious; I have managed to infect my Norwegian husband and our two kids 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-dropping-to-be/436877/26 "2008-02-10T10:13:30Z")
Wherever it started, it’s definitely spread. I used to use it when I was younger, in California, and I can’t swear that I’ve stopped. Although in high school I had a friend who hated that construction and would nearly tear her hair when she heard it. So I learned to suppress it, at least for awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-dropping-to-be/436877/27 "2008-02-10T12:23:04Z")
The same is very much in evidence here (Northern England) It is not at all uncommon for people to drop ‘to be’ and fail to substitute ‘-ing’. I just sounds all wrong to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-dropping-to-be/436877.md?page=1)