"I want" and "I want"

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You are probably familiar with the saying "Children who want something are screwed." Even as a child you are brought up to say "I want" instead of "I want". But what is the difference and when is it advisable to say "want" and when to say "like"?

Wanting something can sound very demanding.
Wanting something can sound very demanding.

"I want" sounds very demanding

  • Imagine you are sitting at a friend's table and saying: "I want milk with my coffee." You are likely to get irritated by the host and consider it quite rude, even though you have expressed what you have got grammatically correct want.
  • The problem with "I want", however, is that it has a very demanding undertone and sounds like you do Order the other person around and give him orders and not as if you were making a wish to him bring up.
  • You should only use the modal verb "to want" if you really want to enforce a desire with all your might. This is quite possible, for example, with personal success goals. For example, you can say, "I really want to make enough money to be able to buy a house of my own later." This is what it is then Strictly speaking, no longer just about a wish - because wishes cannot always come true - but about the firm will to do something or to do something receive.

"I want to" is the softer and more polite form

  • Life is a lot easier if you behave politely. Assuming you say "I would like milk with my coffee" in the example already given, you will certainly be happy to comply with your request.
  • The modal verb you use in this polite language is actually the word "like," whose Subjunctive II - meaning "would like" - is mostly used, while "would like" only occasionally as a separate modal verb is listed. In German usage, "want" is a polite form.
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  • Although "I want" and "I want" basically have the same goal - namely the milk in this example - this is what it sounds like Polite form as opposed to "wanting" not after a request, but after a request or a request Wish. It is basically a weakening of "want", in which you prevent that you deny your counterpart his own will. The other person has the opportunity to refuse this request, while his hands are almost tied when he says "I want" because you absolutely want to get your way.

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