Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 3: 18/18

たがるTo want to (Third person)

Structure

Verb[た+ がる

Details

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About たがる

As we explored in our lesson about がる, this verb can be used with adjectives, to express the way in which people are acting. However, it can also be partnered with the auxiliary verb たい, to form たがる. This grammar construction is used when expressing that someone is acting like they 'want' to do something.

To use this structure, attach たい to the ます stem form of any verb, then replace the い in たい with がる.

Caution

たがる is in contrast to てほしい which means 'to want someone to do (A)'. These differences will need to be practiced, and memorized.

This is also in contrast to the い-Adjective ()しい 'to want (A)'. To describe that someone seems like they want something (rather than that they want to 'do' something), がる will be paired with this adjective.

Examples

--:--

    (かれ)動物園(どうぶつえん)()きたがる

    He is acting like he wants to go to the zoo.

    (むすめ)いつもスポーツしたがる

    My daughter always wants to play sports.

    彼女(かのじょ)最近(さいきん)映画(えいが)()たがる

    My girlfriend wants to see a recently released movie.

    あの()(かえ)りたがるならいいじゃない

    If that kid wants to go home, that's alright, isn't it?

    (かれ)パソコン()いたがって週末(しゅうまつ)(はたら)いた

    He wanted to buy a PC, so (and) he even worked weekends.

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たがる – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (11 in total)

  • Pushindawood

    Pushindawood

    to want to
    Third Person

    Structure

    • Verb[stem] + たがる
    • Verb[stem] + たがっている

    [ Used to describe wish/desire of someone other than speaker/writer. Literal translation: たがる - to show signs of wanting to ; たがっている - to be showing signs of wanting to]

    View on Bunpro

  • deltacat3

    deltacat3

    In the example sentence…

    あの子(は)帰りたがるならいいんじゃない
    If that kid wants to go home, that’s alright, isn’t it?

    Is じゃない this future grammar point? - じゃないか isn’t it.

    Also what function is doing in that sentence? I am very curious and slightly confused, any insight would be so very welcome! ^_^!

  • s1212z

    s1212z

    I think the speaker is either adding emphasis or seeking an explanation (or just being causal). I assume you’ve done the N5L2 (8) already?

  • deltacat3

    deltacat3

    Your totally right! It is [~んです・のです]. It’s quite concerning I wasn’t able to notice it in its shortened form. I think I might reset its reviews to help kick-start it back in my brain.

    And yes, I have been following the Bunpro order of grammar, so I get all those lovely context sentences with only grammar I know.

    P.S. cheers for answering both my questions, your my new bestest friend ^_^!

  • Howl_UK

    Howl_UK

    It’s annoying that んです and でしょう are both in Genki chapter 12 as they appear in so many example sentences before that chapter if you are following the Genki path. I’m just doing Chapter 11 now (hence why I’m reading this 1 year old thread!) and haven’t learned them properly yet but I have seen them everywhere by this point!

  • testing

    testing

    What exactly is the difference between たがる and たがっている?

    • 彼は動物園に行きたがる。
      vs
    • 彼は動物園に行きたがっている。

    Is it something like “(Judging his behaviour lately, ] it seems that he wants to go to the zoo.” vs “(Judging his behaviour right now, ] it seems that he wants to go to the zoo.”?

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    @testing

    Hey

    Very good question!

    がる expresses general statement or habit.
    がっている expresses current situation.

    So:

    人は金持ちになりたがる。
    People want to get rich.

    とらこは新しい車を買いたがっている。
    Torako wants to buy a new car.

    That is all to it
    I hope it helps,
    Cheers!

  • testing

    testing

    Thanks! That makes sense. I’m still struggling a bit with “彼は動物園に行きたがる。” from the examples (and a few others, e.g. “彼女は最近の映画を見たがる。”). It’s translated as “He wants to go to the zoo.”, which sounds more like the current situation statement, and yet it uses the general statement/habit grammar.

    Is it using the wrong Japanese form? Or would there be a better English translation? Is it one of these things that just can’t be easily expressed in English?

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    @testing

    It still expresses habit/general statement in this case

    彼は動物園に行きたがる
    Means:
    He wants to go to the Zoo (as always/habitually).
    It expresses habit or his general state of mind.

    彼は動物園に行きたがっている。
    He wants to go to the Zoo (at this time).

    I hope it makes it a bit clearer,
    Cheers!

  • indutny

    indutny

    Hello!

    I feel a bit stupid, but why does the answer to this question is “行きたがる” and not ”いったがる”?

    ()動物園()に____

    The verb in the hint is just 行く so I expected to use its conjugation: 行ったがる

  • IcyIceBear

    IcyIceBear

    The verb stem is 行き like 行きます. So verb stem +たがる is 行きたがる “(they) want to go”. I don’t don’t what order of lessons your doing, but another thing that might help the way you think of it is how you make simple “I want to verb” statements.

    行く→行きたい → I want to go
    行きたがる→someone other than me wants to go

  • indutny

    indutny

    Ah, gosh. I was stupid indeed! Somehow I was thinking about past tense of the verb, even though the grammar point was about “3rd person wanting to do”. Thanks for the explanation!

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