need doing vs need to do

Both "need doing" and "need to do" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "Need doing" is more common in British English and is used to express that something requires action, while "need to do" is more common in American English and is used to indicate a necessary action.

Last updated: April 06, 2024 • 753 views

This phrase is correct, especially in British English, to express that something requires action.

"need doing"

This phrase is commonly used in British English to indicate that something needs to be done. It is often used in informal contexts.

Examples:

The car needs washing.
The room needs cleaning.
The report needs finishing.

Show examples from the web [+]

This job you need doing... Cold feet,
This job you need doing...
I need strong Irish backs for the things I need doing.
These foreign cleaners are dropping like flies. I need strong Irish backs for the things I need doing.
I was wondering if you had some chores that might need doing.
Perhaps the first thing that you will need doing is to request a vehicle history report.
The things he's doing are things that need doing.
Then of course there are so many other things that need doing: prepare the bivy, make something to eat, check the gear...
You know which of the first 50 actions we need doing?
However, the labour force coming from those countries that have been slow to develop is for the most part ill-equipped for the jobs that our economies need doing.
It seems to me that the current government of Nicaragua is doing many of the things that need doing in order to address this problem.
Going through the space in an 組織 Audit creates a list of all those little things that need doing. This allows you to schedule priorities and work at your own pace to end up with an organized home.
Is there anything else that you need doing, Sire?
To move our continent forward, to do the things that need doing that I talked about - getting young people employed.
Providing code is not the only way of contributing to the project; for a more complete list of things that need doing, please refer to the FreeBSD Project web site.
There was actually quite a bit of work Dogville didn't need doing that its residents would have to carry out for themselves in future
In fact, it turned out there were not so few things that the other townsfolk of Dogville didn't need doing either
List the things which need doing and ask each person to take responsibility for the different tasks. What do I know about Spain and Spanish culture?
Because the demographics are really going to leave us with lots of jobs that need doing and that we, our society, is going to have to be built on the shoulders of steel of robots in the future.
This is much neglected within the Union and there are many things which need doing in schools, the infrastructure sector, the care sector, health care and in the care of the elderly which could give the EU's 20 million unemployed meaningful employment.

Alternatives:

needs to be done
needs doing
needs attention
needs fixing
needs addressing

This phrase is correct, especially in American English, to indicate a necessary action.

"need to do"

This phrase is commonly used in American English to indicate that something requires action. It is more formal than "need doing."

Examples:

I need to do my homework.
She needs to call her parents.
We need to finish the project.

Show examples from the web [+]

What we need to do is take a step back before this escalates.
What we need to do is solve his murder.
So all you need to do is find your blackmailer.
Then here's what you need to do, Charlotte.
Then all you need to do is listen.
We need to do what he doesn't expect.
We need to do a full I.D. check.
It's what we need to do.
What we need to do now, Dexter...
I think what we need to do is chemistry.
But what you need to do is fan the flames of the revolution.
It's perfect for what we need to do.
That's certainly one of the things we need to do.
There's something we need to do.
You need to do some serious repenting.
I already know what we need to do.
We need to do more tests to be certain.
Before she can get the transplant, we need to do about 80 procedures.
We need to do a liver biopsy.
All we need to do is get across the bridge.

Alternatives:

have to do
must do
require doing
should do
ought to do

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need doing vs need to do

"need doing"

"need to do"

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