My students (and some younger colleagues) are increasingly stating (verbal) and writing phrases as such: "The operating system needed updated." or "The application needs fixed." I was of the understanding that the phrase 'to be' was required between the words needs or needed and the following verb.
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@PeterShor Wow, I never knew that. When I first read this question I thought it was just plain wrong. – Dog Lover Oct 14 '17 at 05:24
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I have heard "needed" or "needs" used in this way, but only with the present participle. As a native speaker of North American English in the Northeast US, I would feel comfortable saying any of the following sentences:
"The car needed fixing."
"That punk needs a beating."
"Those tires need inflating."
This usage is not uncommon, but I believe it is informal. If I were speaking in a professional or academic context I would formulate the sentence differently, saying instead:
"The car needed to be repaired."
"That gentleman needs to be spoken to about his behavior."
"The tires need to be inflated."
Lumberjack
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In your first example, I would agree with, "The car needed fixing." But what I'm getting a lot these days is, "The car needed fixed." I believe I was taught that the correct usage would be "The car needed to be fixed." What I'm hearing and seeing lately just seems completely incorrect and I'm trying to determine if I'm mistaken. – WeberEInc Oct 13 '17 at 20:16
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@WeberEInc: "needs fixed" was originally a central and western Pennsylvania regional usage which has now spread through a good part of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and neighboring states. I would guess you moved to the area where it's used recently, and were quite surprised to hear it. (Just like people who move to New York and New Jersey are surprised to hear "waiting on line".) Either that, or you've stayed put, and it's invading your area via the younger generation. – Peter Shor Oct 14 '17 at 12:29