Verb patterns · CEFR B1 · Independent
want somebody to do something in English
To say what you want ANOTHER person to do, the person goes between the two verbs. English cannot use "that" here.
The shape
verb + object + to + verb
Say what you want somebody else to do.
In Hindi
दूसरे व्यक्ति से कुछ करवाने के लिए, वह व्यक्ति दोनों क्रियाओं के बीच आता है। यहाँ "that" नहीं चलता।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
I want that you come early. | I want you to come early. English says "want you to come" — "want that" is a direct translation from Hindi. |
Learn these first
These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
- make / let / helpB1Say somebody made you or let you do something
- Reported orders and requestsB2Report an instruction somebody gave you
Questions people ask
- What is the want somebody to do something used for?
- To say what you want ANOTHER person to do, the person goes between the two verbs. English cannot use "that" here. In practice: say what you want somebody else to do.
- How do you form the want somebody to do something?
- verb + object + to + verb.
- What is the most common mistake with the want somebody to do something?
- Saying “I want that you come early.” instead of “I want you to come early.”. English says "want you to come" — "want that" is a direct translation from Hindi.
Where want somebody to do something fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
want somebody to do something is a CEFR B1 structure — the independent band — and it belongs to verb patterns. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
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