たがるTo want to (Third person)

Structure

Verb［たい］+ がる

Details

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.

彼(かれ)はこのステーキを食(た)べたがる。

He will want to eat this steak. (He will act like he wants to)
彼(かれ)にこのステーキを食(た)べてほしい。

I want him to eat this steak. (I want him to)

This is also in contrast to the い-Adjective 欲(ほ)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.

田中君(たなかくん)は新(あたら)しいゲームを見(み)つけると、そのゲームをほしがる。

When Tanaka-kun sees a new game, he always wants it.

Examples

--:--

彼(かれ)は動物園(どうぶつえん)に行(い)きたがる。

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

娘(むすめ)はいつもスポーツをしたがる。

My daughter always wants to play sports.

彼女(かのじょ)は最近(さいきん)の映画(えいが)を見(み)たがる。

My girlfriend wants to see a recently released movie.

あの子(こ)が帰(かえ)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?

彼(かれ)はパソコンを買(か)いたがって、週末(しゅうまつ)も働(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
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
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 ん doing in that sentence? I am very curious and slightly confused, any insight would be so very welcome! ^_^!
s1212z

deltacat3:

Also what function is ん doing in that sentence?

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
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
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
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
@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
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
@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
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”？

彼()は動物園()に＿＿＿＿

The verb in the hint is just 行く so I expected to use its conjugation: 行ったがる
IcyIceBear
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
行きたいがる→someone other than me wants to go
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!