Would and Present...

Question

"...wouldn't want you taking..."say you have this sentence...can you explain me why is it correct to write "Wouldn't" + "Present" in the same sentence?Or the meaning of "Wouldn't" here is different...?

Avangi · Accepted Answer

I don't consider "want" to be present here.

"Would" works as an auxilliary: (I would want), and "want" is the base form, or the bare infinitive. It happens to have the same form as the simple present, first person singular.

Similarly, you would say, "I didn't want you taking dope."

"Didn't" is simple past; "want" is the bare infinitive.

Picnic · Answer

the sentence is in the past??'

can i say:

"I didn't want you to take dope."
is the same as:
"I didn't want you taking dope."

I still dont understand why its correct..

Philip · Answer

"Wouldn't want you __ing" is a unique formation, shortened from "I wouldn't want you ___" meaning "I don't want you to __".

Don't worry about it's being correct or not. It's generally used only in spoken, informal English.

Avangi · Answer

You're exactly right.

There are a couple of things going on here.

We have independent clauses and we have subordinate clauses. Let's call the verb in the independent clause the main verb. Not all the verbs in a sentence have to be in the same tense.
It's raining right now, but yesterday the sun shone all day long.
This sentence has two independent clauses, and the two main verbs have different tenses.
"Is" is present tense, and "shone" is past tense.

The main verbs have tenses (they're "finite") but verb forms like "taking" and "to take" don't have tenses (they're non-finite).

Furthermore, some tenses require more than one word. "Auxilliary verbs" are added to the mix.
I didn't go yesterday. I went yesterday. "To go" is the main verb. Both of these examples are in simple past tense.
But negative sentences often require the auxilliary verb "to do." The tense job is done by the auxilliary (I did not), while the main verb remains in the base form "go," which happens to be the same as the simple present. You think you're looking at two different tenses, but you're not.

So it looks confusing. "I went yesterday" uses the past tense of "go."
"I did not go yesterday" uses the past tense of "do" plus the base form of "go."
Present tense, "I do not go on Saturdays," and future tense, "I will not go tomorrow," all use the same base form of the main verb, "go."

I don't want you to take it. I didn't want you to take it. I will not want you to take it.
There are three tenses here, but the "want" and the "take" do not change. They both appear to be present tense, but they're not. "Want" is the base form of the main verb, and "take" is the infinitive.

Sorry, this is very rambling. (I should have made an outline.)

Would and Present...

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