Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
| Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Top Words. My name is Alisha, and today, we're going to talk about 10 ways to say you want something. So, let's go. |
| "Want." |
| The first word is "want." We use "want" for anything we want to receive, we want to get. Any desire you have for an object, for a person, you can say, "I want something." So, for example, "I want a new pair of shoes. I want a puppy. I want a new house." "Want." We use "want" for desires. So, in this sentence, "I want a new pair of shoes." |
| "Hope." |
| The next word is "hope." So, we use "hope" for something in the future, something in the future that we want to happen, something that we want to occur, a hope in the future. So, "hope" is sometimes used for like a concept, like for the weather, for example, like, "I hope it's sunny tomorrow," or, "I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow." So, some desire, something you want in the future, like, we'll talk about it later, but you can imagine like you're thinking positively about something you want in the future. We use "hope" for this. So, "I hope I get a good job someday," or, "I hope my friend calls me back." So, in this sentence, "I hope this new project is successful." |
| "Wish." |
| So, the next word is "wish." So, we use "wish" in a similar way to "hope," but "wish" has some set phrases like to wish someone a happy birthday, for example, means to hope they have--you want them to have a happy birthday. But we don't say, "I want you to have a happy birthday." We say, "I wish you a happy birthday," or, "I wish you safe travels," for example. So, it's like a hope for someone else. So, "I wish you blah, blah, blah. I wish you safe travels. I wish you a happy birthday. I wish you a happy marriage," for example. We also use "wish" for something that is different, a situation that is different from the current situation. We use it in a sentence like, "I wish I were, blah, blah, blah." So, "I wish" is used for something like a hope or a desire for something which is not the case now. So, like, "I wish I had a nice set of cookware." That's true. Or, "I wish I could travel anywhere in the world at any time." I can't do that now. So, we use "wish" for things that are maybe not possible or they are not the situation now. So, in one more example sentence, "Don't you wish you could travel anywhere anytime?" |
| "Desire." |
| The next word is "desire." So, "desire" is not so commonly used in everyday conversation. "Desire" tends to have more of like a romantic or intimate nuance about it, or I suppose we could say like it has a more formal nuance to it, but in my mind, it has more of like an intimate relationship nuance. So, like a strong desire for your boyfriend or a strong desire for your girlfriend. It has like a physical relationship nuance. So, like to desire someone else. We use it in that way. You might sometimes see it like the client's desire, a different approach or we desire something else for this project. You might hear it in those cases where it sounds a little more formal than want. But I feel that in many cases, "desire" sometimes has a more, a physical relationship nuance. So, please be careful with how you use "desire." In a sentence, "They desire a response as soon as possible." |
| "Crave." |
| Okay. The next word is "crave." So, "to crave," this is as a verb. In the noun form, we say "craving." "I have a craving for, blah, blah, blah," or, "I'm craving something." So, "to crave" means to want something so much you can't stop thinking about it. This is really commonly used for food. So, a food that you really, really want to eat, we use the word "crave," like, "I'm craving ramen. I'm craving pizza. I'm craving a burrito. I'm craving an ice cold beer," for example. "I'm craving a sugary doughnut." So, the thing that you really want to eat or drink, you can explain that really strong feeling with the word "crave." So, "I'm craving something." So, yeah. In a sentence, "I'm craving ramen," or, "I have a craving for ramen," is good, too. |
| "Yearn." |
| The next word is "yearn." This is a very old-fashioned word. We often use it with "yearn for" and it's used--you might see it like in old--well, I shouldn't say old. You might see it in literature. So, in books and novels and stuff. To yearn for someone or to yearn for something. It means to--it's like crave, but kind of an old-fashioned, like you really, really want something or you want someone but it has this sort of romantic kind of old tiny feel about it. This is not a word that's used really in everyday conversation. You might see it in a book or you might see it in, I don't know, I suppose like a news article perhaps in quoting something, like, "The politician yearned for his days as like a student," for example. |
| So, it has sort of this old-fashioned, yes, but also this rather--I keep coming back to the word romantic but I don't mean it in terms of like a love thing. I mean, in terms of this idealized image of something. You have this ideal image of something kind of beautiful in your past or some beautiful other things somewhere. Like yearning for pastures in a different country or there's some kind of like beautiful image that someone yearns for. So, this is a fairly rare word, I feel like, from this list that we've talked about so far. In a sentence, "He yearned for his girlfriend." So, there's something that's out there that you just really want. But again, kind of weird. It means you--or weird to say now, but you might see this in books and things. |
| "Lust." |
| The next word is "lust," to lust for something. So, to lust for. So, similar to desire, "lust" has more of a romantic or a strong intimate relationship nuance. So, "lust" for someone else, for another person means you have a strong physical attraction to someone. So, like, "To lust for that girl," or, "To lust for," or we also use "to lust after someone." So, like, "Oh, I'm lusting after that guy. I'm lusting after that girl." is like you have a really strong physical attraction. So, the idea here is like a very physical attraction is the deal. |
| We also use it at least in modern American English to describe a strong visual attraction like seeing something, like a visual attraction to objects, especially when shopping. So, like, "I'm lusting after that bag," or, "I'm lusting after those new shoes." Something that you really, really want to buy, so you can use "lust" for that. Like, "I'm lusting after that new car, or like, I don't know. I don't personally use it this way, but I would say you lust after some object, lust after a new camera, lusting after blah, blah, blah. So, to lust after something means to really, really want to buy something. So, in a sentence, "I'm lusting for that new bag." |
| "Can I have…?" |
| So, the next expression, it's actually a question pattern, it's, "Can I have…?" So, when you want something when you're shopping, when you're at a restaurant, when you're at a bar and you want an item, you can say, "Can I have…?" as a way to ask for the item. So, "Can I have a beer? Can I have a glass of wine? Can I have a burger? Can I have that TV? Can I have that camera? Can I have that iPad?" Anytime you want an object, you want to purchase or order an object, you can use "Can I have…?" to ask for that. So, in a sentence, "Can I have a beer?" |
| "I'd like…" |
| Another expression you can use to ask for something in a service situation is "I'd like…" So, "I'd like a new car," or, "I'd like a haircut. I'd like a new dress." Or, "I'd like some help. I'd like to know where the bathroom is." So, you can use "I'd like…" I'd, be careful, so not I like, I'd. It means I would. "I would like blah, blah, blah." "I'd like" becomes "I would like" in the expanded form. So, use this anytime you want something, you want help. You can use this in a lot of different situations. In a sentence, "I'd like some more time to work on this." |
| "I need…" |
| Next is "I need…" So, like "I'd like…" "I need…" is used to ask for something in a service situation at work. So, "I need four pastries, please," or, "I need three pizzas," or, "I need five drinks, please." So, again, ordering something, requesting something you can use "I need…" to introduce that. "I need a trip to the dentist. I need to sleep." So, something you desire, something you need, something you want. You can use "I need" to explain that thing. In another sentence, "I need your help." |
| So, those are 10 ways to say you want something. If you have any other ideas, be sure to let us know in a comment. Also, feel free to try out these expressions in the comment section below this video. Thanks very much for watching this episode of Top Words and I'll see you again soon. Bye! |
Comments
Hide