If he wanted to

[Rachel Adams]

Which sentence is grammatically correct and should I use "to" in the first sentence? If I remove it, will my sentence be correct?

1. "I wouldn't ask him about it. If he wanted to he would tell about his parents' problems."

2. "He would tell about his parents problems if he wanted to."

 

[emsr2d2]

Here's an important thing to remember: we don't "tell about" anything. In your sentences, you need "he would talk about" or "he would tell you about".

 

[GoesStation]

Which sentence is grammatically correct and should I use "to" in the first sentence? If I remove it, will my sentence be correct?

1. "I wouldn't ask him about it. If he wanted to, he would tell us/people about his parents' problems.":tick:

2. "He would tell us/people about his parents' problems if he wanted to.":tick:

See above. I prefer number one with "to", but it's okay without it.

 

[tedmc]

How about:

He would tell us about his parents' problems if he wanted to without me asking about it?

 

[Tarheel]

Perhaps:

He'll tell us about his parents' problems if he wants to. Until then we can assume he doesn't want to.

 

[5jj]

There are all sorts of ways the thoughts could be expressed but, with either emsr2d2's or GS's corrections, Rachel's original sentences are fine.

 

[Rachel Adams]

There are all sorts of ways the thoughts could be expressed but, with either emsr2d2's or GS's corrections, Rachel's original sentences are fine.

I thought my first sentence was incorrect
1. "I wouldn't ask him about it. If he wanted to, he would tell us about his parents' problems" because "to" is in the middle and it's used together with what can be omitted (he would tell us about his problems). If it's not omitted then what's the purpose of ellipsis there?

 

[Tarheel]

I wouldn't ask him about it. (He probably doesn't want to talk about it.)

He will tell us about his parents' problems when the time is right.

:tick:

 

[emsr2d2]

I thought my first sentence was incorrect
1. "I wouldn't ask him about it. If he wanted to, he would tell us about his parents' problems" because "to" is in the middle and it's used together with what can be omitted (he would tell us about his problems). If it's not omitted then what's the purpose of ellipsis there?

I'm not sure what you're confused by. "To want to" is effectively the verb there. There is no ellipsis in your sentence. As GoesStation showed in post #3, you needed a comma after "wanted to".

Why don't you go to the park?
I don't want to.

If you want to, you can stay at my place.
Thanks.

Why don't you tell him you're pregnant?
If I wanted to, I would. I just don't want him to know.

 

[Rachel Adams]

I'm not sure what you're confused by. "To want to" is effectively the verb there. There is no ellipsis in your sentence. As GoesStation showed in post #3, you needed a comma after "wanted to".

Why don't you go to the park?
I don't want to.

If you want to, you can stay at my place.
Thanks.

Why don't you tell him you're pregnant?
If I wanted to, I would. I just don't want him to know.

I thought in both my original sentences "To want to" is an ellipsis. How do I recognize it in a sentence?


1. "I wouldn't ask him about it. If he wanted to, he would tell us/people about his parents' problems."

2. "He would tell us/people about his parents' problems if he wanted to."

 

[GoesStation]

I thought in both my original sentences "To want to" is an ellipsis. How do I recognize it in a sentence?

1. "I wouldn't ask him about it. If he wanted to, he would tell us/people about his parents' problems."

2. "He would tell us/people about his parents' problems if he wanted to."

I'm not a grammarian, but I think you could call it an ellipsis of the longer phrase If he wanted to tell us about them. Does labeling it as such help you use the language correctly?

 

[Rachel Adams]

I'm not a grammarian, but I think you could call it an ellipsis of the longer phrase If he wanted to tell us about them. Does labeling it as such help you use the language correctly?

Yes, it does. If I know exact terms and rules it's easier for me.
Is "to" optional in both my original sentences and is usually optional?

 

[emsr2d2]

By ellipsis, are you referring to the fact that sentence 2 isn't "He would tell us about his parents' problems if he wanted to tell us about his parents' problems"? If so, I'll let a grammarian deal with that. To me, an ellipsis is a set of three dots with a space at each end, denoting actual missing words or an unfinished thought.

The professor said "You can go home early if ... and you've finished your homework".
She thought, "If only it would stop raining, I could ..."

It would be incorrect to write your sentence as "He would tell us about his parents' problems if he wanted to ...".

 

[emsr2d2]

Is "to" optional in both my original sentences and is it usually optional?

It's not impossible to say "He would tell us about his parents' problems if he wanted" but it wouldn't be as natural as "... if he wanted to". However, it's perfectly acceptable to say:

You can go to the park if you want.
You can go to the park if you want to.

They are equally natural and common.

 

[Rachel Adams]

By ellipsis, are you referring to the fact that sentence 2 isn't "He would tell us about his parents' problems if he wanted to tell us about his parents' problems"? If so, I'll let a grammarian deal with that. To me, an ellipsis is a set of three dots with a space at each end, denoting actual missing words or an unfinished thought.

The professor said "You can go home early if ... and you've finished your homework".
She thought, "If only it would stop raining, I could ..."

It would be incorrect to write your sentence as "He would tell us about his parents' problems if he wanted to ...".

Yes, that's exactly what I was asking about. "He would tell us about his parents' problems if he wanted to tell us about his parents' problems". If it's generally used when there is an omission and that part is no longer repeated, in my sentence it's stil repeated. So I was wondering what kind of ellipsis it is.

 

[jutfrank]

Your sentence is a conditional sentence, with two clauses.

The verb phrase (tell us about his parents' problems) is articulated in full in the main clause and ellipted in the subordinate clause. Since the verb phrase appears in full in one clause, it can be ellipted in the other.