Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

Can someone diagram this sentence:

I thought it was best to let you decide to whom this needs forwarded.

In addition, is the sentence grammatically correct? If not, why?

share|improve this question
Note to British readers: it appears that "sentence diagramming" means something specific to many Americans: the application of a particular method, which I presume is the Reed-Kellogg system mentioned in sentence diagram. – Colin Fine Oct 10 '11 at 14:08
@Peter Shor: Although needs washed, etc., seem awful to me, I do appreciate that it's normal in some US dialects. But surely users of this form are normally perfectly well aware that it's non-standard for the rest of us. Doesn't this imply that such speakers probably wouldn't use it in the same sentence as the much more formal to whom? – FumbleFingers Oct 10 '11 at 14:13
@FumbleFingers: No, judging from the questions we've had on this site, some of these speakers are unaware that it's not normal English. – Peter Shor Oct 10 '11 at 14:15
@Colin: "sentence diagramming" is something that used to be taught in elementary schools in the U.S. -- I certainly had to do it in the 1960s. I don't know whether it is pedagogically useful; I found it extremely tedious. My impression is that it is no longer in the curriculum where I live, but it may still be taught in some areas of the U.S. – Peter Shor Oct 10 '11 at 14:19

closed as off topic by Richard Rodriguez, JSBձոգչ, aedia λ, Peter Shor , simchona♦ Oct 10 '11 at 16:36

Questions on English Language & Usage Stack Exchange are expected to relate to English language and usage within the scope defined in the FAQ. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope. Read more about closed questions here.

2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

I’m not sure diagramming is possible on Stack Exchange, even if anyone wanted to do it. The sentence is grammatical, except for the last word. British English, at least, would require to be forwarded.

share|improve this answer
1  
Except in Yorkshire. – Colin Fine Oct 10 '11 at 14:04
@ColinFine Or Scotland – neil Oct 10 '11 at 14:09
In British Standard English,then. – Barrie England Oct 10 '11 at 18:54
up vote 2 down vote

For the grammaticality of this statement, it uses the "needs washed" construction, regional in the U.S. to central Pennsylvania and environs, and which has been discussed here in these three questions. If you're not in a region where this construction is used, you should say "needs to be forwarded". As for how to diagram "needs forwarded", since it's not a standard construct, I don't know whether there's a standard way of doing it.

share|improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.