Use of "need attended" [duplicate]

Question

A coworker insisted that this sentence was incorrect but I argued that it is correct. Here is the sentence in question:

There are potholes that need attended to right away on southbound I-75 near Dearborn Street.

Should be "need to be attended to", "need attending to", "need tending to", "need attention", and several others. — Hot Licks, Jul 13, 2016 at 17:25
At first this sounded okay to me, but then again, I'm an uneducated Pennsylvanian...! — Kevin Workman, Jul 13, 2016 at 18:21
I grew up in Oakdale, Pa. I left 40 years ago and it sounds perfectly fine to me. Never knew it was regional. The car needs gassed, the dog wants fed, and the weeds need sprayed. — Phil Sweet, Jul 13, 2016 at 20:41
Ah shucks. Somebody deleted their comment about how this makes sense to uneducated Pennsylvanians, so now my comment makes me look even more uneducated! — Kevin Workman, Jul 14, 2016 at 13:48

rattler418 · Accepted Answer · 2016-07-13 16:29:17Z

0

If you want to keep your original tone, then you could use:

"There are potholes that need tending to right away on southbound I-75 near Dearborn Street.

OR you can be a bit more direct with it:

"There are potholes that need immediate attention on southbound I-75 near Dearborn Street."

answered Jul 13, 2016 at 16:29

rattler418

1

Not 'tending to' unless you're from my neck of the woods :).
– John
Jul 13, 2016 at 16:36
1

@John From: dictionary.com/browse/tending tend verb (used with object) 1. to attend to by work or services, care, etc.: to tend a fire.
– rattler418
Jul 13, 2016 at 17:18
To my ear "tending" (without the following "to") only applies to something like a fire which requires regular and repeated attention. One would hope that potholes are fixed properly and would not need such regular attention (though I suppose in some cities that may not be the case).
– Hot Licks
Jul 13, 2016 at 17:29
1

@John What is your "neck of the woods"? "need tending to" sounds perfectly fine to me (as a Brit), even if not very common.
– TrevorD
Jul 13, 2016 at 18:09
@TrevorD, Texas. To me, it comes across sounding hillbilly. It has a colloquial feel to me. 'Git tendin to yur crops', 'Best tend yur bizness now'. But good to know. Thanks.
– John
Jul 13, 2016 at 18:24

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Otto von Hammelberg · Accepted Answer · 2016-07-13 14:15:21Z

-3

Your coworker is correct.

The sentence in question should be:

There are potholes that need to be attended right away on southbound I-75 near Dearborn Street.

Or:

There are potholes that need attending right away on southbound I-75 near Dearborn Street.

answered Jul 13, 2016 at 14:15

1574 bronze badges

1

Except in those dialects where "needs attended" are grammatical. Central Pennsylvanian, according to the comment above, and also parts of Northern England and Scotland.
– Colin Fine
Jul 13, 2016 at 14:47
I didn't downvote, but maybe it's because it should be 'need to be attended to'.
– John
Jul 13, 2016 at 16:34
Both of them need, at minimum, a "to" ahead of "right away".
– Hot Licks
Jul 13, 2016 at 17:27
If you attend to a pothole, you mean you pay attention to it. If you attend a pothole, you mean it's an event, like a rally or concert which you attend.
– MetaEd
Jul 14, 2016 at 16:12

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