"He needs fed" - what is this grammar?

It's a non-standard usage in parts of the US Midwest and Upper South/Appalachia. https://ygdp.yale.edu/phenomena/needs-washed

I would use all of these. I'm Scottish. I'll tell my husband his hair needs combed or his beard needs trimmed. The grammar is more Scots than English but is used in areas settled by Scottish immigrants in the past.

I lived in central Pennsylvania for many years. It was a local colloquialism.

It's non-standard English, but common in several dialects. What we consider "right" and "wrong" is very much a matter of opinion.

Pennsylvania or WV probably

Short form of “he needs [to be] fed”. As others have said, it’s non-standard.

That is some Ohio Valley dialect.

You are right. Missing "to be". This is NOT grammar, it's piss poor English. (The word "piss" in this sentence means "very" or "extremely", in a pejorative way). Invented by people to sound "cool," when, in fact, it sounds "stupid." Dont learn this cool grammar. It will be gone in two years, replaced by something else from our second-grade elementary school population.

I hear it in Canada too. I hate it. It should always be "It needs feeding" or "It needs to be fed".

I think she's just omitting "to get" on purpose to sound cool (maybe?), since famous streamers influence the way kids talk.

“You need to be checked for a head injury” is all I’ve got.

Very common in Pennsylvania

It’s incorrect but common usage. It’s a colloquialism. Typically certain southern areas or Appalachian, but due to migration can be found everywhere.

This is usually called the “need washed” construction and is characteristic of white Americans in a band from approximately Pittsburgh to Indianapolis. It is generally thought to be a result of Scottish influence (the construction is also found there), though as the obligatory joke goes, “its origins need explained.” In places where it’s common like Pittsburgh, it is considered totally acceptable by speakers. Mk kids’ teachers use it, my professional colleagues use it, etc. Good summary here: https://ygdp.yale.edu/phenomena/needs-washed

I was born and raised in California, and I use this construction all the time; I would not call it "non standard" at all, just informal. (But my parents are from the Midwest so that's probably where I got it.)

Fairly common in the mid-Atlantic. Universal in west Pennsylvania and apparently expanding among the youth.

Interesting. In my area this would go to the present participle (needs fixing or wants fixing) instead of 'the needs to be'. Using 'wants' instead of 'needs' is something you only hear from an old fart like me, BTW.

Native English speakers often speak improper English. This is an example of that. Quite often people do it because they think it makes them sound hip, or smart, or they do it to fit in with a group.

It sounds wrong to me. I agree with your corrections. Maybe it's a regional thing. Just don't do it in an exam!

It's not acceptable in standard American English, but there are a lot of areas all over the US (and in Scotland and Northern Ireland) that do accept this as grammatically correct! In the dialects where it exists, it's a valid grammatical construction with its own rules. It's really cool. It's formed by \[need/want/etc.\] + passive participle. Some examples: >This needs washed. The car needs repaired In standard English it'd be something like "This car needs repairing" or "This card needs to be repaired." If you want to read more, Yale has a good resource with their [Grammatical Diversity Project](https://ygdp.yale.edu/phenomena/needs-washed).

In spoken English, the "to be" is implied, but often left out. In written English, it is highly improper and should be avoided.

Having grown up in western PA, it was precisely this construction that changed my view on prescriptivism and correcting others’ grammar. I had always used this construction (and still do a lot of the time), but then a stage manager came up to me in undergrad and just says “You’re from Pittsburgh!”. I responded that I was from near there, how did she know? “You said that the prop needs fixed!” I was confused. The prop was broken. It needed fixed. And that’s when I learned that the standard convention is “needs fixing” or “needs to be fixed”. Though I have yet to come across a reason why omitting the “to be” would cause ambiguity.

>what is this grammar? Wrong. Don't use this construction.

This might surprise you but people that are considered “white” do have varied ancestors and cultural backgrounds. As a linguist, it sounds like she has an English, Irish, Scottish, or Appalachian background or raising. She must have been spoken to this way. I am disgusted by people that use acronyms like “AAVE” but forget there are white Africans and then say well, she’s not dark enough, so why doesn’t she speak right?!?! The lack of depth is astounding. Just say you come from the people no one liked that put my ancestors in re-education schools, changed our names and ruined the cultural heritage and aesthetic of millions.

This is an Irish thing too. I often say this.

This is common and normal in some parts of the US. I grew up hearing it all the time in Pennsylvania. And it cuts across social classes. Everyone does it. It's just how people talk here.

I hear that usage a lot in the rural Rocky Mountain west, especially amongst ranchers and farmers. “He needs fed” means “he needs to be fed.” “He needs rode” means “he [this horse] needs to be ridden [for training and temperament reasons]”

It’s Pittsburgh. The car needs fixed. The dishes need washed.

My wife talks like this.

I use the -ing form but many people use -ed (which I do not agree with 😁) and it's an accepted and interchangeable way to say the same thing.

Yep. He needs to be fed, or he needs feeding.

We use this construction in Scotland. I didn’t learn that it wasn’t standard English until I went to university in England and someone pointed it out to me.

was it lilsimsie? she's got a sort of strange blend of midwestern and british vernacular because her parents are from the midwest and her husband is from the UK

This is something you hear in the northeast US/mostly from white Americans. Instead of saying “he needs feeding” or “he needs to be fed,” they’ll say “he needs fed.” It happens with other participles to: “this needs fixed” instead of “this needs to be fixed,” for example.

It's because you understand the language better than she does.

It's a dialect more common in areas where German-speaking immigrants were common. For example, people in Western Pennsylvania/Eastern Ohio do this. It's common in Erie, Pennsylvania. Personally I find it very grating and unpleasant to hear but I suppose it's technically fine. Adding "to be" doesn't really enhance the meaning of the sentence so why not just remove it. Why use many word when few word do trick?

It's a regional dialect thing. It means "He needs to be fed" but some dialects, basically, do it wrong. 😂 It happens with lots of verbs, like "the laundry needs dried" for example.