A question/hair cut

A question/hair cut
Message from soei posted on 23-04-2017 at 05:10:15 (D | E | F)
Hello.
My question is about want . What is the correct form of verb after want?
Her hair is very long , it wants ...............(cut)
Do you think it has only one answer ?
Best regards

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Edited by lucile83 on 23-04-2017 09:06

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Re: A question/hair cut from lucile83, posted on 23-04-2017 at 09:12:05 (D | E)
Hello
That sentence doesn't make sense. Hair can't want anything
Hair may need to be cut though.
The right sentence should be:
Her hair is very long , it needs to be cut/ it has to be cut/she wants it to be cut.

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Re: A question/hair cut from willy, posted on 23-04-2017 at 10:34:12 (D | E)
Hello,
Want/need +-ing form with passive meaning:
- The grass wants mowing = it needs mowing/ to be mowed/mown.
- My hair wants ..

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Re: A question/hair cut from lucile83, posted on 23-04-2017 at 10:56:06 (D | E)
Hello willy,
Want + verb-ing is colloquial, and I do think it shouldn't be used.
Colloquial speech allows for want + noun + gerund, especially in BE.
The meaning may be the same. This is more common, I think, with verbs other than want. I come across it a lot with need.
This coat needs washing ~ This coat needs to be washed.

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Re: A question/hair cut from willy, posted on 23-04-2017 at 11:08:51 (D | E)
Hello lucile83,
Link

There's no talk of colloquial English here.
In "Practical English Usage" (M.Swan, 2009) well: "In informal British English, we can say that a thing 'wants (=needs) something, particularly with reference to actions."

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Re: A question/hair cut from soei, posted on 23-04-2017 at 11:12:38 (D | E)
Hello. Thank you for your answers. I got it perfectly. Best regards

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Re: A question/hair cut from lucile83, posted on 23-04-2017 at 13:54:30 (D | E)
Willy,
I am sorry but the words colloquial and informal mean the same to me.

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Re: A question/hair cut from gerondif, posted on 24-04-2017 at 15:47:00 (D | E)
Hello
For me, Want + ing, meaning need is more old-fashioned, dusty,quaint than colloquial. An exception to the usual pattern want + infinitive any student was proud of knowing, not to fall into the trap when it cropped up in multiple-choice questions.

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Re: A question/hair cut from willy, posted on 25-04-2017 at 09:29:18 (D | E)
Hello,

Here are a few more comments about the use of the past participle or the -ing form:
Link

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Re: A question/hair cut from soei, posted on 25-04-2017 at 09:45:27 (D | E)
Hello
Thank you for your new reply Willy
I read this sentence there : The car needs to be washed. In my example (want) means (need) . So here we cannot say (hair) can't (want ) something , am I right? So my question can have two answers : 1) cutting 2) to be cut
I'll be pleased to hear about your opinions . Best regards

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Re: A question/hair cut from here4u, posted on 25-04-2017 at 10:02:47 (D | E)
Hello !

Hum... I'll tell my British family that they are "old-fashioned, dusty, quaint"... I'm sure they'll appreciate and... agree, but you do hear "Well, your hair needs cutting, boy!" in "everyday conversation" in Britain! I'd say it's "deliciously" quaint! (or rather "British"..., which is the same, isn't it? ) I think it certainly wouldn't be used commonly in everyday conversation... ("You need a haircut!" )

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Re: A question/hair cut from soei, posted on 25-04-2017 at 10:20:21 (D | E)
Hello . But I don't want to know it is used nowadays or not. I only want to know if it is correct .
Regards

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Re: A question/hair cut from gerondif, posted on 25-04-2017 at 12:08:07 (D | E)
Hello
Here4u, I was speaking about want + ing. Need + ing is much more common.
It is correct but not so common to use want + ing.
Other people might be interested in the further information, though.
Expanding an explanation is still allowed on the site .

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