Verb Want Followed by Infinitive
Verb Want Followed by Infinitive
Verb Want Followed by Infinitive
We use the verb want to talk about wishes and needs, and to give advice:
You want to get your tickets soon before theyre all sold out. (I advise you to)
Most uses of want involve the simple forms of the verb (want, wants, wanted). When we are
talking about wishes or desires we can also use the continuous form (is wanting, was wanting,
will be wanting).
We always follow want with a complement of some kind. The complement completes the
meaning of the clause. The complement can be a noun or pronoun as an object, or a verb in
the to-infinitive form, or an object plus a verb in the to-infinitive form:
A:
Dyou want a drink? Ive just made some coffee. (noun object)
B:
She said I could have her oldBIKE , but I dont want it. (pronoun object)
This is a new kind of fruit juice I got. Dyou want to try it? (to-infinitive)
The teacher wants her to do the exams again next year. (object + to-infinitive)
In reduced clauses (e.g.SHORT answers), we can use the to without its verb:
A:
B:
No. She doesnt want to. (She doesnt want to go [to France].)
Warning:
We can use wh-words such as what, when, whenever, wherever, whoever before want. In such
cases, it is often not necessary to use the infinitive to after want:
You dont have to stay for the whole lecture. You can leave whenever you want. (or whenever
you want to.)
A:
B:
A:
Want with if
In statements with if, it is often not necessary to use the infinitive to after want:
However, we use the infinitive to after want in negative clauses with if:
Customer:
Were wanting to buy a newTV , but were not sure what to get.
Assistant:
I was wanting to ask you something. Are you free right now?
We can also use the continuous form to emphasise an ongoing or repeated process:
Wed been wanting to go to New Zealand for years, so his sixtieth birthday was a good excuse.
Now that shes a teenager shes wanting expensive things, you know, computers, clothes, sports
stuff.
We can use want with the -ing form of a verb to say that something is necessary or should be
done. This usage is quite informal:
In informal situations, we can also use want + -ing in a similar way to the construction have
something done:
Have you got anySHIRTS you want washing? (which you want to have washed)
In informal situations, we can use want plus the to-infinitive to advise, recommend or warn. It is
almost always in the present simple, but we can also use it with ll (theSHORT form ofwill):
You want to be careful riding yourBIKE in town. Thereve been some bad accidents lately. (you
should be careful)
What youll want to do, youll want to take that bit off and clean it with oil or something.