>>
>>>As for infer vs. imply, I'm not ready to surrender on that one yet.
>>
>>What do you mean by surrender? You don't mind the interchangeability or you do? if you ever saw the film Mrs Brown, re: the rel twixt Q Victoria and her Scottish retainer, there is a scene where he corrects the Prince of Wales on that very grammatical error. Now I know some dictionaries allow it nowadays but that's being forced by common use.
>
>I meant that I don't consider them interchangeable and will continue to educate people about it.
>
>>>>Oh, and "they were sat at the table" and "he was stood by the door"
>>>
>>>I've never seen either of those. Must be a local idiom where you are. But it reminds me of the phrasing they use out in western Pennsylvania and nearby areas: "That homework needs done."
>>
>>I don't find that as bad as the common usage (at least in GB) - "That homework needs doing." At least in PA the "to be" is "understood", I'd say equiv to "I'm bigger than he [is]".
>>
>
>Actually, while I prefer "That homework needs to be done," I'd recommend the one you dislike over the western PA version.
>
>Tamar

Do you guys use the participle like this too? "That dinner wants [sic] cooking before the meat goes off", "The bins need emptying as the dustmen come tomorrow"
("The trash cans need emptying as the (operatives?) come tomorrow"

Very common usage over here.