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Ztq3 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Want or wanted

Some people use want and some use wanted. Which one is correct?
1. I just (want, wanted) to know the status of xYZ accounts receivable. Please advise.
  

Top answer

Some people use want and some use wanted. Which one is correct? 1.

— Canadian45

  • Some people use want and some use wanted.
  • Which one is correct?
  • 1.
  • I just (want, wanted) to know the status of xYZ accounts receivable.
  • Yes, the use of different tenses there can be confusing.
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4 Answers
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Some people use want and some use wanted. Which one is correct?
1. I just (want, wanted) to know the status of xYZ accounts receivable.
Yes, the use of different tenses there can be confusing. The most sensible thing to do is to use "want" if you presently want to know and to use "wanted" if you are talking about wanting in the past.
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The so-called past tense can be used for distancing a situation not only in time, but also in directness and reality:

I wanted to see the latest Bond film, but I missed it. - Distancing in time , past time.
I wish my son wanted to go to university. - Distancing in reality, counterfactual situation (he doesn't want to go).
I wanted to know/wo
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kolokoyWhich one is correct?
Both are correct, but the past of politeness (wanted) is best when requesting information from another, as explained above.

CJ
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