Representing thinking, perceiving, liking and desiring
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Using verb patterns to represent desires and needs | page 2 of 12 |
Participants associated with desire verbs
Most verbs related to desires and needs are typically used transitively
. This means that there are two participants
in any desire or need: the desirer, who is able to feel wants, hopes and needs and
is typically human; and the desired, which represents what is lacking, and which
causes the desirer to have such feelings:
I'm an old-fashioned girl…and I want an old-fashioned millionaire.
(Eartha Kitt) desirer desired
The desired can be an activity or situation, or a thing (including a person, as in the above example). Here are some examples of each type:
| 1a. | activity or situation (involving one person) |
Stop the world - I want to get off. (Microconcord Corpus A) |
| 1b. | activity or situation (involving two people) |
I want you to want me; I need you to need me.
(Cheap Trick) |
| 2. | thing | How we hunger after war: the public's appetite for the blood and thunder of battle remains as strong as ever. (Bank of English) |
Introduction
Participants associated with desire verbs
