"...to become a painter"

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Peaceblinkfriend

#544580 Mon, 21 Jul 08 05:13 PM

I wanted to become a painter

I wanted to become a painter once

I had wanted to become a painter

I had wanted to become a painter once

I used to want to become a painter.

Do they all mean the same thing? And do they sound like natural English to you?

Thank you

PBF

Peaceblinkfriend

Joined on Wed, May 9 2007

Australia

Contributing Member (1,572)

Clive

#544585 Mon, 21 Jul 08 05:25 PM

Hi,
Let me begin by asking you to consider a couple of simpler examples.

I wanted to cook dinner.

I had wanted to cook dinner.

Do you understand the difference between these tenses?

Best wishes, Clive

Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (21,191)

El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

Difference between, Tenses

Peaceblinkfriend

#544876 Tue, 22 Jul 08 07:25 AM

I wanted to cook dinner. I had the desire to cook dinner some time in the past.

I had wanted to cook dinner. I had the desire to cook dinner a long time ago.

Is this the difference between the two sentences?

Thanks

PBF

Peaceblinkfriend

Difference between

CalifJim

#544880 Tue, 22 Jul 08 08:02 AM

Peaceblinkfriend
Do they all mean the same thing?

Adding "once" doesn't change the meaning, but changing the tense does.

Peaceblinkfriend
do they sound like natural English to you?

Yes, except the last one, which seems awkward to me.

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (16,975)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Tenses

Clive

#545022 Tue, 22 Jul 08 03:00 PM

Hi,

I wanted to cook dinner. I had the desire to cook dinner some time in the past. Yes.

I had wanted to cook dinner. I had the desire to cook dinner a long time ago. No. The distance in the past is not important. The Past Perfect is used to show that an event happened in the past before some other event or point in the past.
eg At 7pm yesterday, I cooked dinner. I started to cook at 7pm.
eg At 7pm yesterday, I had cooked dinner. Dinner was ready by 7pm.

Now let's look at a few of your original examples.

I wanted to become a painter. OK. tells me about a past desire.

I had wanted to become a painter. You need to say this in a context where it is before some other time in the past.

eg After I graduated from college, I got a job as an accountant. I had wanted to become a painter, but I discovered that I had no talent. This tells about a desire that I had before I graduated from college.

So, you need to study and practice Past Perfect. Would you like to try to write and post a few sentences for us to comment on?
Best wishes, Clive

Clive

Past perfect

Peaceblinkfriend

#545483 Wed, 23 Jul 08 03:14 PM

Thanks for replying, CalifJim and Clive.

I will certainly heed your advice and work on Past Perfect. (:)) Smile

Would 'I wanted to become a painter' be a strong enough utterance to accentuate the fact that 'I' no longer want to become a painter? If not, could you suggest what I should say to make that emphasis?

Thanks again

PBF

Peaceblinkfriend

Past perfect

New2grammar

#545488 Wed, 23 Jul 08 03:19 PM

Peaceblinkfriend
Would 'I wanted to become a painter' be a strong enough utterance to accentuate the fact that 'I' no longer want to become a painter?

I don't think so. Unless the context makes it clear. You could say, I always wanted to become a painter but then I grew up and realized it wouldn't make a good living so I went to medical school and now I'm darn rich.

New2grammar

Joined on Tue, Nov 21 2006

Veteran Member (7,670)

Who wants to go sailing around the world with me?

Clive

#545492 Wed, 23 Jul 08 03:29 PM

Hi,
You could say 'I used to want to become a painter'.
Clive

Clive