Teacher Discussion Forums

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.

What about:

Do you want the government snooping on your private life?


Seems like it works in a question too.

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.

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?