In the Central Pennsylvania dialect of English (and possibly elsewhere), the following construction is possible:
- This car needs washed. (=needs to be washed)
- The room needs cleaned. (=needs to be cleaned)
It appears that, if a verb like needs is followed by a passive construction in the infinitive, the "to be" portion is left out.
This construction sounds so unnatural to my ear that I have no intuition as to the extent to which it can be extended to other words and contexts. If anyone here is a native speaker of this dialect of English, perhaps they can help to explain the limits on its use.
My basic question is: how productive is this particular construction among those who use it?
To be more specific, can this construction be used with any verb (if that verb can be immediately followed by a passive construction, of course)? That is, would (any of) the following be acceptable, for example?
- At this restaurant, we always wait seated. (=wait to be seated)
- My kid hates picked last in sports. (=hates to be picked)
- We all want loved. (=want to be loved)
If this construction is restricted, then which verbs can be used, aside from need?
Edit: What I am really hoping for here is that there is someone who happens across this question that can say, "I actively use this construction, and here's what I can and can't say."