Post #3827967
2026-07-15 07:28 UTC
English native speakers, help me out please.
All of the following sound correct to me:
- "This point needs to be clarified."
- "This point needs clarifying."
- "This point needs clarification."
This does not, yet I see it in writing much more often than I used to:
- "This point needs clarified."
Is the latter phrasing common? If so, in what context? Is there a dialect or sociolect that prefers this?
(Boosts for reach appreciated.)
Replies (1)
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@philbetts@mastodon.social 2026-07-15 08:13
@xahteiwi@mastodon.social the first three are all grammatically correct, but subtlety different. The first would generally be frowned upon by most style guides as it's passive, though could also be intentionally ambiguous (it is not clear who will do the clarifying.) The second puts emphasis on the action ('clarifying' verb). The third puts emphasis on the ambiguity of the point (you could also say "the point is unclear" with an implicit action.)