Want You To Do
“Silence is the true friend that never betrays.” – Confucius
We’re going to now combine two grammar lessons that you’ve already done into one. Basically, you already know all this, which is awesome, but it’s good practice (and actually you’re learning something new).
In this chapter we’ll be looking at てほしい. That’s て-form plus ほしい, which you know means “want.” Previously you used this as its own word. As in:
プレーステーションがほしいです。
I want a Playstation.
ウィーはほしくないです。
As for the Wii, I don’t want it.
新しいテレビゲームがほしいです。
I want a/the new video game.
These are all simple sentences where you use ほしい. But, what if you want someone to do something, rather than just plain old wanting something? That’s a little different. Now you have to use that vast て form knowledge that you have to create a sentence like this.
〜てほしい Form
The pattern for this is quite simple, though the translations to English may take a little getting used to, depending on how you’ve thought about ほしい in the past.
て-form Verb + ほしい + です
When you do this to a verb, you’re saying that you want this action to be done. You’re not saying you want to do this action. Make sure you understand the difference, here.
すしを食べてほしいです。
I want (you) to eat the sushi.
日本語を教えてほしいです。
I want you to teach me Japanese.
シアトル市に行ってほしいです。
I want you to go to Seattle.
This てほしい grammar point is generally used by people who are at a high enough level to give someone else orders. When you use this, it probably means you have more power than the other person, because you’re looking down on them slightly. It would be like a teacher telling a student what to do or a parent telling a child what to do. Not necessarily rude, just more like a “I want you to do this” sort of request. You wouldn’t say that to your boss, right?
The Difference Between 〜たい
You probably remember たい form. This is “want to do” as well, but it’s different. With たい form you want to do some action. With 〜てほしい you want someone else to do something.
肉を食べたいです。
I want to eat meat.
肉を食べてほしいです。
I want you to eat the meat.
ハリーポッターをよみたいだ。
I want to read Harry Potter.
ハリーポッターをよんでほしい。
I want you to read Harry Potter.
夏休みになりたいです。
I want to become summer break.
夏休みになってほしいです。
I want it to become summer break.
Can you see the difference between the two? Even though they almost have the same meanings… they are totally different. Especially in the last two sentences, you can really see how one makes sense and the other… well… probably doesn’t.
Make sure you understand the formula and pattern of this grammar point. When you do, move on to the next page and study the kanji and vocab for this lesson.