a construction that could use (to be) studied

[Laurence Horn]

On Jul 23, 2012, at 1:31 AM, Wilson Gray wrote:

> On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 10:33 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
>> "He could use hosing down"
>
> Fir me, it has to be
>
> "He could use _a_ hosing down. Otherwise, I agree with you.

Sure, the noun is easy, but I can get verbal participles too:  "The car could use washing", "The floor could use polishing", "My office could use straightening up".  But not "could use (to be) straightened up".
>
>> Midlands speakers _from Pittsburgh west and south_ can, to varying degrees, get "needs Ved", "wants Ved", "likes Ved", and > so on.
>
> Not also north and east? The first person to mention this construction
> to me was Bill Pepicello. (Remember him? Would you believe that he's
> now the presidentxy of the University of Phoenix?) He's a native of
> Erie, in NWPA, and these constructions are also a feature of the local
> "heynabonics," here in NEPA.

Erie is east of Pittsburgh?  North, I'll grant you.  Anyway, I imagine "Western PA" would be the operative term.  I never heard either of these (or "needs washed") during my 4 years of living in Rochester.  Northern Cities vowels, yes, but not the other Western PA/Appalachian type features (needs + PPcpl, positive "anymore", "yinz", etc.).

LH

LH

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org