(Don't) want + [i]-ing[/i] form

lolwhites · Post by **lolwhites** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 4:11 pm

A construction I often use, and hear, is (I) don't want + V-ing e.g. I don't want my kids reading comics.

It's not one I ever see in a grammar book, and only sounds right to me in the negative. Obviously I'm sure there's nothing wrong with my language (though others might beg to differ).

Am I going mad or do others use this construction too?
Incidentally, no student has ever asked me about it.

Lorikeet · Post by **Lorikeet** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 8:05 pm

What about:

Do you want the government snooping on your private life?

Seems like it works in a question too.

Stephen Jones · Post by **Stephen Jones** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 8:56 pm

I want a bevy of beautiful bitches bouncing their big boobs up and down on my bed and caressing my crotch with their nether parts.

Seems like it works in a fantasy too.

Duncan Powrie · Post by **Duncan Powrie** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 4:15 am

lolwhites · Post by **lolwhites** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 8:40 am

How did that one get past the filter?

OK, so it works in positive, negative and interrogative. So far so good...

So why have I never seen it in a grammar book?