Need + -ing (Passive Gerund)
Level B2 · Passive Voice
need can be followed by an -ing form with a passive meaning, or by to be + past participle — both describe something that requires action done to it, and mean exactly the same thing. The car needs washing and The car needs to be washed both mean 'someone should wash the car'; the -ing form looks active in shape but carries a passive meaning.
Two equivalent ways to say something requires action:
- need + -ing (passive meaning, informal, very common in speech): This shirt needs ironing (= this shirt needs to be ironed); My hair needs cutting.
- need + to be + past participle (same meaning, slightly more formal or explicit): This shirt needs to be ironed; My hair needs to be cut.
- Other verbs that work the same way: want and require — This room wants painting (British English, informal); The engine requires servicing.
- The -ing form here is never a gerund with an active meaning — the car needs washing never means the car is doing the washing; the passive meaning is built into the pattern itself.
The most common mistake is using an active infinitive instead of the -ing form or the passive infinitive — the car needs wash or the car needs to wash are both wrong; use the car needs washing or the car needs to be washed. A second mistake is adding to before the -ing form — needs to washing is wrong; it's either need + -ing (no to) or need + to be + past participle (with to), never a mix of the two patterns.
Look for need/want/require followed by an -ing form describing something that should be done to the subject, not by the subject — if you can replace the -ing form with to be + past participle and the meaning stays the same, it's a passive gerund, not a normal active gerund.