Grammar Talks 4-06 Would like / Want to

What would you like to do?

Two people share what they would like to do in their life.
image
Todd: So Darcy, let's talk about our dream life. Where would you like to live?

Darcy: I want to live by the beach.

Todd: That would be nice.

Darcy: Yes, I want to live somewhere that I can see nature and hear the ocean waves. I want to be able to go outside and just get away from things.

Todd: That's nice.

Darcy: How about you?

Todd: Well, I love the beach and I like to go to the beach a lot, but I'd like to live in the mountains. I want to live in a forest or around a lot of trees. I love trees and I like to go hiking so I want to live where it's very rural, but not far from the city and I can go hiking a lot. I want to have a dog because if I have a dog, I can take the dog walking with me. That would be really nice.

Darcy: I want to live somewhere that's kind of suburban, close to a city but quiet but also, I want to have a home that has a yard and I don't need a fence but I would like to be nearby neighbors and where people are friendly, instead of kind of too tight together or too spread apart.

Todd: Right. What about transportation? Any type of car? What type of car would you like to have?

Darcy: I think I would like to have a chauffeur.

Todd: A driver? You'd like to have a driver?

Darcy: Because I don't have my license yet.

Todd: Oh I see.

Darcy: I want to get a license. I want to learn how to drive but if I can't, it would be convenient if I would have a chauffeur to drive me around.

Todd: Oh, wow.

Darcy: What about you? How do you like getting around?

Todd: Well, actually, I'd like to have a car, a nice car, maybe an all terrain Mercedes Benz or BMW. That would be nice, but I want to drive myself. I do not want to have a chauffeur, so I like to be by myself. I like to relax. I don't want to talk to somebody in the car. I want to be alone, so yeah, that's definitely not going to happen, but I'd like to have a car that looks nice in the city, but you can take out in nature. It's a little rugged, so that would be good. I don't want to have a small car. I don't want to have a sports car and I don't want to have a car that's really expensive I guess a Mercedes all-terrain car is expensive, but I mean, I don't want to have a car like a Ferrari or something or a Porsche, that if I make a mistake, then it's going to be really expensive, so.

Darcy: Yeah, I don't have a car license, but I have a scooter license, so I want to get a nicer scooter that's like pink and white, and I would like it to have lights underneath the bottom, something shiny, and I want it to have a stereo and I play music while I drive down the streets.

Todd: Oh, no. Do you want people to hear your music when you go by?

Darcy: I just want to hear my music when I'm driving.

Todd: Okay, so how about travel? So, where would you like to go?

Darcy: I would like to go to Ireland because my family's from there. I would like to see where my ancestors used to live and I would like to try the cuisine and I would really like to learn Gaelic. It's not really spoken in the world, but I think it's really nice to learn about my history and to pass that on, even though I don't live there.

Todd: Oh, nice. That's cool.

Darcy: What about you? Where would you like to go?

Todd: That's pretty easy. Well, I shouldn't say easy. I have two choices. I love to go to Africa and I'd love to go to South America, just because I haven't been to either place, so I'd like to travel around Africa. I've met many students at my university from Africa and they are so nice, and that would be cool. I'd like to go to everywhere actually, I like to go to Somalia, I'd like to go to Ethiopia, I like to go to Nigeria. I'd like to go to Tanzania. I like to go to Botswana. I've met students from these places, and they're so nice. Also, I'd like to go to South America. It looks cool and I'd like to learn Spanish. I don't know any Spanish, but I want to learn, and Portuguese. They speak Portuguese in Brazil, so that would be fun.

Darcy: It sounds like you just want to travel around the world.

Todd: I do kind of, but I like teaching. Actually, that leads us to the next question, what is your dream job or what would you like to do as a professional? I'll go first. I want to teach English in South America. I'd like to teach English in maybe Chile or Argentina or maybe Brazil or Colombia. I have friends that taught in those places, and they all say it's really nice.

Darcy: Yeah, I just want to be a teacher or something with teaching, or I want to do some type of mentoring. I like traveling too, so I would like to go to maybe Korea or France or Italy, some European country, because I want to go somewhere new and have a new experience, but I'm also interested in the mentoring, so I think it would be really great. I really want to do TED Talks, so I want to get more experience so that way I have something that I can share with other people and travel around the world and talk to different people.

Todd: That's nice. That's so cool. What about things you would like to learn or a skill you would like to develop?

Darcy: I want to learn how to play the guitar.

Todd: That would be lovely.

Darcy: Yeah, I really like writing poetry so I think it would be cool if I learned how to play my own music. I want to be able to sing and play guitar and perform and entertain people and I want to kind of form that connection that music does that we can't necessarily do just talking with each other.

Todd: Yeah, that's a nice one.

 


Darcy: What about you? Do you have any skills you want to learn?

Todd: Yeah, two basics. One, I'd like to learn how to surf. I want to start surfing, I would love that, and also, I'd like to get a motorcycle and learn how to ride a bike around and take like a long motorcycle trip. I've done the scooter. I've done some dirt bike riding and I've done some motorbike riding in countries where I kind of lied and said I had a license and I didn't but I'd like to make it official, go get a motorcycle license, so we should make a pact. I'll get my motorcycle license and you'll get your driver's license.

Darcy: Okay.

Todd: It's a race.

Darcy: Okay, you might win.

Would like to / Want to

Point 1: Use both 'would like to + verb' and 'want to + verb' to express desires.
  1. I would like to buy a new car.
  2. I want to buy a new car.
  3. I'd like to travel overseas.
  4. I want to travel overseas.
Point 2: Use both structures to make questions.
  1. Would would you like to eat? (more polite)
  2. What do you want to eat?
  3. Would you like some coffee? (more polite)
  4. Do you want some coffee?
Point 3: Use both structures to make affirmative statements.
  1. I would like to sit down. (more polite)
  2. I want to sit down.
  3. I'd like to leave. (more polite)
  4. I want to leave.
Point 4: Usually speakers only use 'want to + verb' in negative statements.
  1. I don't want to watch TV.
  2. I don't want to study.
  3. She doesn't want to work here.
  4. They don't want to go out.
Point 5: In Yes / No questions, the auxiliary verb must match the question form.
  • Would you like to have a pet?
  • Yes, I would.
  • No, I wouldn't.
  • Do you want a pet?
  • Yes, I do.
  • No, I don't.
Answer the following questions about the interview.

Free Courses from ELLLO

One Minute English Videos

Free Courses from ELLLO