NEVER say 'I WANT' in English | How to speak better English

Hi there, everybody, this is teacher Harry  here and welcome back to my English classes.  

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your English learning experience a one stop  shop. Okay, so what am I going to talk to you  

about today? Well, the lesson today is talking  about I want and when we use I want in English,  

it can sound a little bit harsh. I remember when I  was growing up, my mother would always say to me,  

I want never gets. I want never gets. And what you  meant by that was, if you say I want it sounds  

a little bit rude. So if you say that all the  time, then I'm not going to give you what I want,  

or what you want. So if I wanted something in  the sweet shop, I want this I want that no, no,  

no was her response. So she tried to teach  me good manners. And if I wanted something,  

I would have to say, I would like or Could I  please have something now I appreciate and many  

languages I want I would like sound the same  or perhaps the words are the same. But in the  

English language. They're very different. So when  somebody says, I want, it sounds very demanding.  

I want this. I want that. Yeah. So you can picture  that little child in the sweet shop, I want this,  

I want to borrow chocolate I want to tie. And it  sounds really, really bad. And all the customers  

in the shop will be looking at you of course,  but I would like or Could I please have much more  

polite and much better hat. Okay, so remember what  my mother used to say, I want never gets. So we're  

going to look today at different ways in which you  can say I want that will sound much better, and  

much more polite. Okay, so I'm going to give you  a list of the various options that we have. And  

then I'll go through them one by one so you can  understand where and how we can use it. And what's  

always important and also important with these as  they are the words we use around it. For example,  

I would like yeah, so it's, I would followed by  like, I would like some tea please. Or I would  

like some coffee, please. Or could I have some  tea please? Or could I have some coffee, please,  

but definitely not. I want so let me give you the  list. First of all, I'm going to read some of them  

because I've got a long list. So have a look at my  screen here. Don't worry about that. I wish I hope  

I long for high crave. I lost after a lot to  explain that a bit more later, I lost after  

I desire. I fancy. I feel like I have  my heart set on. I'm in the mood for  

I have my eye on something on my eye  on somebody. I have something in mind.  

I'm itching for something itch. Never scratch,  I'm itching for something or I'm itching to do  

something. And then finally, I'd give my right  arm for something, I'd get my write down for  

something. So all different ways in which we can  say I want without saying the words I want. So let  

me go through them one by one. So the first I wish  I wish I had a euro for every time somebody asked  

me for a lesson. Okay, so I wish I had to look at  the other words I use. I wish I had or I wish I  

could. I wish I could go out later. But it's very  wet. I'd like to go for a walk. I wish I could  

go out so you want to do something. I wish I  could talk to my friend. I wish I could call  

him or her on the phone. I wish I could use my  laptop but the battery has run out. Okay, so  

I wish I could I wish I could do this. I wish I  could do that. I hope I hope that you will be able  

to come back soon. I hope that it would be able to  take a holiday next year when COVID and all this  

pandemic is hopefully out of the way. So I hope  I hope that I hope to join a course next year  

I hope to sign up for university in the next few  months. So here I hope to do something. And I hope  

that so just again look at the words that you  use in conjunction with my expression. I hope

I long for when we long for something. It's  like the word long yeah long. So when you  

long for something, it means literally that you  have wanted it for a very long time I long for  

a nice cold beer so on a hot summer's day and  you've been working really really hard and at  

the end of the day you go home and you're  somebody asks you what would you like off  

I've been longing for a beer all day  meaning you've been thinking about it  

all day so something that you have been thinking  about for a considerable period of time then  

you can use the expression I long for you can  long for some peace and quiet so when the kids  

leave home to go to school or they leave  home to go to university or in fact  

when they leave home for good you might see heart  I long for some peace and quiet along for those  

nice warm winter evenings when it's cold outside  and I'm tucked up in bed and my big dubay or I'm  

sitting beside the fire and reading a book I long  for those warm winter evenings inside the house  

okay so too long for something is to really wanted  for a period of time thanks we're at one is I  

crave and we crave for something is when we have  a desire for us. Yeah, and usually it's to do with  

things like food, okay, so somebody who's on a  diet perhaps might crave for some chocolate so  

they'd be on a diet for several weeks or months  and they really would like to break out and have a  

little taste of something that is not so good for  you but tastes very nice. So all I crave a nice  

bar of chocolate or I'm craving for a particular  meal that they haven't had perhaps it's a Chinese  

takeaway or nice being dirty pizza, whatever they  fancy so they crave for that. And it's often a  

verb that's used when we talk about women who  are expecting babies because things change and  

they they have unusual cravings for unusual types  of food so they might have a cucumber sandwich or  

toasted cheese with some strange topping here so  they crave for something as a really strong strong  

desire. Okay, so we might like something but when  we crave for something we can get that taste the  

taste of the food or go to the shop and get me  that bag of sweets or go to the shop and get me  

that pizza I really crave for something sweet and  crave for something tasty. Okay, so to crave often  

when we've done without it for a period of time,  we have a deep deep desire to eat it okay to crave

to lust after and this you have to be very  careful how you use it because often when we refer  

to the word lust is to do with some pleasure and  sometimes it might be sexual pleasure or something  

to lust after a person which is not a nice way to  behave Okay, so but if we just lust for something,  

it again it's something that you desire very  passionately, okay, so we can last after a bowl of  

ice cream or three scoops of chocolate or vanilla  or passion for whatever it might be you lost  

for that, okay? But to lust after somebody is  to have a desire to be physically and sexually  

close to somebody it might not be returned so  you have to be really really careful. So to lust  

after you have to be very particular how you  use it. Okay, so you can love someone deeply but  

lost is something that is usually not returned.  Okay? So we'll just focus on lusting after some  

food or lusting after that deep red bottle of wine  that you tasted several months ago and you haven't  

been able to find it in the shop so you you're  really trying to get it so you can enjoy it one  

long winter's evening one Friday evening when  you'd like to pop the cork on a bottle of wine  

I desire so again to desire something a little  bit stronger than like a little bit stronger than  

hope to have some it's something similar to crave  so desire. Yeah, I desire a holiday. I desire  

a comfortable home. I desire some free time yes  it's really something strong and something deeper.  

I fancy This is quite informal when  we fancy we can fancy anything we can  

fancy the bar chafford we can fancy the pizza  or we can say to our friend Do you fancy a walk?  

Do you fancy going out tonight? Do you fancy  going to the cinema so we use it all the time  

when we're trying to see Does somebody want to  do something that we want to do? I'd like to go  

for a walk, do you fancy joining me? Or you  text your friends and say we're meeting for a  

pizza and a beer? Do you fancy coming? Yes.  So another way of saying I want, okay, so it's a  

nice informal way and you hear it quite frequently  in particularly British English. Now, we can fancy  

the girl in the office, we can fancy the girl in  the shop, we can fancy the guy in the supermarket.  

So that means we are attracted to them. It doesn't  mean we physically or in any other way want them.  

We fancy them and that we are attracted,  because they're handsome or pretty whatever  

it might be. But when we say fancy in terms  of going for a walk or fancy doing something,  

it's you want to do something. I fancy going  out tonight, I've been stuck at home for the  

last two weeks working remotely. I fancy gone  for a beer because I'm really, I've been flat  

out and I just want to get out. Okay, so to fancy  doing something. Do you fancy going somewhere?  

Do you fancy eating something? Do you fancy  going into town all of the time. Very,  

very informal ways to say what you want, or asking  somebody what they want, or what they want to do.

I feel like and again, a bit informal here.  I feel like a pizza tonight. It's Friday,  

why not? We always have a pizza. If we're going  to have a pizza. It's always on Friday. I feel  

like going away for the weekend. Why don't we we  haven't done it for ages. It's getting to the end  

of the summer, or it's early autumn. So we might  get a bit of the last of the the summer lights  

and a couple of days and walk on the beach. Yeah,  I really feel like that. Yeah. So to feel like,  

I want to do something feel like going away for a  few days before the depths of autumn and the early  

days of winter are upon us. Okay. I feel like  going into town and maybe just having a walk or  

I feel like going to the park. What about the zoo?  We haven't been to the zoo for ages. Do you feel  

like that? Yeah. So fancy doing something feel  like very, very similar, both very, very informal.  

Now, some of these next few expressions a little  bit longer, okay. And, but they're equally good.  

And again, a good way to describe different  ways to say I want so the first of them,  

I have my heart set on something or she has  her heart set on it. So you might come down  

one morning and you're having breakfast and your  wife is their partner and son or daughter a little  

bit quiet. And you ask what's up what's wrong,  or just a little bit of bad news, she didn't  

get the course you wanted, she had her heart set  on that course, meaning she wanted to go to that  

university really deeply because other friends are  going be gentle, she's a little bit upset because  

she had her heart set on it. So when you have  your heart set on something, it's a deep desire,  

it's something you've planned, something you've  hoped for, and you haven't really considered  

that it might, you might fail, so you're hard  to set on it. And then when somebody tells you,  

sorry, you didn't get in, or you didn't have  enough points, well, of course, then naturally,  

you're going to be disappointed. people haven't  been able to go away for a long, long time for  

holidays. And a lot of people had their heart set  on joining their family and friends for Christmas  

or other celebrations. And unfortunately, they had  to cancel those arrangement or couldn't make them  

at all. And even though the hearts were set on,  meeting the family, introducing them to the new  

grandchild, whatever it might be, the pandemic  put a stop to all of the travelling. So now,  

when hopefully things are getting to be a little  bit better. People can once again make those  

plans. So perhaps you have your heart set on a  Christmas with your family, perhaps you have your  

heart set on that long, long holiday next year.  And you're beginning to do the planning already.  

Okay, so to have your heart set on something, is  to have a big, deep desire to do it. I feel in the  

mood, okay, so mood is one of those things that  can be a good mood, haha, or it can be a bad mood.  

Okay, so when we are in a good mood, we feel like  doing something good. Yeah. And when we're in a  

bad mood, we feel like doing absolutely nothing.  So if I am in the mood or I feel as if I'm in  

the mood, then we can do something that we really  want to do. I feel in the mood for a game of golf.  

I feel in the mood for a walk in the hills. So  depending on what your real mood is happy or sad,  

you will feel in the mood to do something or you  will feel in the mood to do absolutely nothing.  

Perhaps you might just want to go to bed, curl  up and go to sleep. Why not? If that's what  

you want to do, then if that's what you feel  like doing, then that's what you should do.

We can have our eye on something. So high e, y  e, we can have our eye on something, it doesn't  

mean we're staring at it, okay? So we have to  be very careful. When we stare at people, they  

don't really like it. But when we have our eye on  something, it means we've been watching out for  

that. We have a desire to buy it. We want to get  it. Yeah. So perhaps you come home and you're your  

partner has bought some new dishes, or some new  plates or some new picture to hang on the wall.  

And he said, Oh, what they're interesting, yeah,  I've had my eye on them. For some time I've been  

walking past this shop. Every day for the last  two weeks, I keep looking at them and thinking,  

they might look nice on the table, or that  might look nice on the wall. So eventually  

went in today, and they gave me a 20% discount,  so why not I bought them. Because I've had my eye  

on them for some time, meaning I've been looking  at them, I thought they may be good. And then  

I've made a decision. Yeah, I really want them.  Let's go and let's buy them. You can also have  

your eye on another job, you're maybe a bit  annoyed or frustrated with the job you have,  

perhaps you haven't got the promotion that  you thought you may get. Or perhaps the salary  

increase that your boss had promised you hasn't  come through yet, your friends are moving around  

different jobs, some of them are getting paid more  than you're getting. So you begin to look at the  

job vacancies and the adverts that are popping  up on the internet. So you've had your eye on  

a couple of jobs that might suit you. So you  eventually dust off your CV changes a little bit,  

you put it on LinkedIn, and you hope and wait  to see what happens because you want to move  

or you want to get more money or you just want  to change so you've had your eye on a change  

for some time. So as I said, when you have your  eye on something, is something you want something  

you want to do something you want to change  something you want to buy, but you've been looking  

now somebody can have their eye on a person, okay,  so if you're not so happy with the way one of your  

colleagues is working, or if you're the boss, and  you've got some subordinates reporting to you,  

and some of them are really not performing  so well. You might call one of them into the  

office one day said, Look, I've been I had my  eye on you for a while I don't think you look so  

happy in what you're doing, or you've been late,  quite a few mornings, or you're going home early,  

is it something you want to tell me Is this  something up. So as a way of approaching it,  

you have to be really, really careful. So if you  have your eye on somebody, you're watching their  

movements, watching what they're doing, because  you might be a little bit uncomfortable with the  

way they've been, hey, they have been behaving  or a little bit uncomfortable with the way they  

are working. So to have your eye on someone, or  to have your eye on something, you might want to  

move home, you might want a new apartment,  so you've been fed up a little bit with the  

space you have, maybe there's not enough space  with the pandemic, you're both working at home,  

or if the kids are at home online. So not a lot of  space. So you have your eye on a bigger apartment,  

or you have your eye on a new home that you might  want to move to. So anything that you desire,  

anything you want to change, you can have your  eye on it, and then just follow through the words,  

as I've said, so tap your eye on  something, to want to do something.  

I have something in mind. Well, we all have  something in mind from time to time. And again,  

this can be used instead of saying I want  what do you have in mind? Well, I have in mind  

a change Yes, I don't know let's change the  decoration in the home here I have in mind to  

paint the walls yellow or to paint the walls  orange or peach or whatever colour just a bit  

of a change. Because let's face it, we spend  a lot of time at home. And we should probably  

change things from time to time. So I have in  mind some decoration. What do you think? So  

you sit down and you talk about it  and decide what the colours will be?  

Who's going to do what who's going to paint  this room who's going to paint that room?  

Or do you need somebody to come and help you  so you have something in mind. And from a work  

point of view, you can always have something in  mind because you're planning things okay, you're  

planning to change the routine, you're  planning to change the approach to  

customers, you're planning to change the way you  approach your job. So to have something in mind.

I'm itching for something okay, you're itching to  do something it's when you have a scratch scratch  

you have to scratch your arm or scratch your  head or whatever you have to scratch. So when  

We're itching to do something we're very anxious.  Yeah, we really want to do something quickly,  

immediately, or we just want to change. Yeah.  So I'm itching for the start of the new football  

season. Yeah. So this during the summer months,  not a lot of football on TV. So somebody who's  

a big, big football fan, and let's face it, lots  of guys and girls are football fans, so they're  

itching, can't wait for the new football season to  start to support that team. For me, I always dread  

the beginning of the football season, because my  team usually is crap. And they play really badly.  

But I'm always hopeful. Yeah, so when you're  itching for something like a scratch, you can't  

stop wanting it. Until, until you Ah, I'm itching  for a holiday. Why don't we go away, I'm itching  

for Christmas because I really love it and my  daughter will come home and all the family will  

be together the kids, the grandkids, everybody, so  we're really itching for a good time. So a really,  

really informal way to say I want something.  And then finally, I'd give my right arm for  

something or anything. So to give my right arm  literally means you'd be happy in a way for your  

arm to be cut off and taken away. If you got  something, I'd give my right arm for tickets  

to go to that football game, I'd give my right  arm to win the lotto, I give my right arm to get  

that promotion that I've been hoping for for weeks  and weeks and months and months. Okay, so again,  

very, very informal. So when we're looking at all  of these expressions that I've used, as I say,  

some of them are more formal than others, some  of them are quite neutral. So I wish and I hope,  

and I long for that they're quite formal, I crave  again, a little bit former, I lost after, I think,  

not used that sort of so often, but just  mentioned it because it's there to desire again,  

a little bit more formal, but I fancy or I  feel like quite informal, I have my heart set  

on something quite informal, I'm in the mood for,  again, quite informal, I have my eye on something,  

I have something in mind all more formal, or more  neutral than, than then form. Okay, so mix here of  

formal and informal ways for you to say I want  Okay, so as my mother said, I want never gets  

I want never get so what we want you to practice  using our other expressions, I would like I would  

hope to do, I wish I could. Okay, so that's the  lesson for today. And as I said at the beginning,  

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