want
part of speech
verb (want, wants, wanted, wanting); noun (wants — the things people want)
meaning for a pupil
1) To want means to wish to have or do something. tree →
2) «Want to» + a verb means you would like to do it: «I want to play». tree →
3) «Wanted» on a poster means the police are looking for someone. tree →
4) Wants are things people wish for but do not really need, unlike needs. tree →
sense in the lessons
In school maths: a goal amount; the difference between what one has and what one wants; how many more are needed. In everyday life and economics lessons: needs and wants (food is a need, a toy is a want). Phrases: «want to», «want more», «do you want», «wanted poster».
examples
- She wants 20 stickers and has 12. tree →
- He wants to buy a bike that costs 80 dollars. tree →
- How many more does she want? tree →
- Tom wants to share 15 apples equally. tree →
- Do you want some juice? tree →
- I want to be a vet when I grow up. tree →
- Food is a need, but a new game is a want. tree →
- The sheriff put up a «wanted» poster. tree →
- “But we want you to dance.” tree →
note
«I want to go», not «I want go». «Would like» is more polite than «want»: «I would like some water, please». Maths: gives a goal; «how many more» = goal − what one has. Trap: the wanted amount is not yet owned, so do not add it to what one has.
In the corpora
- Coming home with flowers the day after a row is making up, a way of saying sorry and wanting to be friends again.
- When people want something changed, they can protest peacefully, sign a petition, or stop work together in a strike.
- When they want to help, they give money to charities, get sponsored for a challenge or volunteer their time.
- «I'm fine» often means «I'm not fine, but I don't want to talk about it now».
- Free prizes that want your password are traps."
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «want» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.