Date:  Sat, 8 Apr 1995 18:06:34 -0500

From:  Natalie Maynor <maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]RA.MSSTATE.EDU>

Subject: Re: needs + present participle



> Now I'm doubting my own recollections. Several have written that "X needs

> a washing" is grammatical in their dialects. Is "X needs washing" grammatical

> in the dialects of anybody? I'm not alone out here, am I?



You're not alone. "X needs washing" is perfectly normal in my Mississippi

dialect.

  --Natalie (maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ra.msstate.edu)

   home from an excellent SECOL -- thank you, Bill Kretzschmar, Ellen

   Johnson, and others!