want to or want to be

[zhanghuck83]

As said in some grammar books, when it comes to eclipse in infinitive phrases, ‘be’ cannot be omitted, for example:
I am not successful, but I want to be.
( but I want to. ×)
Is it really wrong to say ‘but I want to’ in this case? And why?
Then how about this one?
My parents encourage me to be a teacher, but I don’t want to be.
Or should it be ‘but I don’t want to.’?
Honestly, ‘but I don’t want to’ sounds more natural to me.
I hope I have managed to make myself understood with what little English I have learned.
Thank you in advance.

 

[Barque]

I am not successful, but I want to be.
( but I want to. ×)
Is it really wrong to say ‘but I want to’ in this case? And why?

It sounds wrong to me, and I believe it's because you're changing the form/tense of "be" (not really sure of the reason).
I'm not successful but I want to be.
I haven't become successful but I want to.

Do you see the difference?

My parents encourage me to be a teacher, but I don’t want to be.
Or should it be ‘but I don’t want to.’?

And I wouldn't use "encourage me to be" here.

1. My parents want me to become a teacher, but I don't want to be one.
2. My parents want me to become a teacher, but I don't want to.
3. My parents want me to become a teacher, but I don't.

To me, the last sounds more natural. I wouldn't be surprised to hear the second. I wouldn't be surprised to hear the first sometimes either.

 

[Tarheel]

It sounds wrong to me, and I believe it's because you're changing the form/tense of "be" (not really sure of the reason).
I'm not successful but I want to be.
I haven't become successful but I want to.

Do you see the difference?



And I wouldn't use "encourage me to be" here.

1. My parents want me to become a teacher, but I don't want to be one.
2. My parents want me to become a teacher, but I don't want to.
3. My parents want me to become a teacher, but I don't.

To me, the last sounds more natural. I wouldn't be surprised to hear the second. I wouldn't be surprised to hear the first sometimes either.

The first seems most natural to me.

 

[jutfrank]

As said in some grammar books, when it comes to eclipse in infinitive phrases, ‘be’ cannot be omitted, for example:
I am not successful, but I want to be.
( but I want to. ×)
Is it really wrong to say ‘but I want to’ in this case? And why?

Yes, it's wrong. When the verb is 'be', you can't use verb ellipsis after want to. In other words, the grammar books are correct, and you have to say 'be'.

Then how about this one?
My parents encourage me to be a teacher, but I don’t want to be.

No, that's wrong. You should say ... but I don't want to be one.

Or should it be ‘but I don’t want to.’?

No, that's also wrong.

 

[zhanghuck83]

Thank you so much for your kind help, Barque, Tarheel and jutfrank.

I’m still puzzled over the compulsory use of ‘be’, especially when there is no room for confusion over the ‘form/tense’ of ‘be’, or when it is not possible to retain ‘be’.

For instance,

1) Gatsby wants to be rich, but I don’t. How about using ‘but I don’t want to be.’ or ‘but I don’t want to.’?

2) Gatsby wants to be rich and have a high social status, but I don’t. In this case, we cannot use ‘but I don’t want to be’ instead, right? How about ‘but I don’t want to.’?

Thank you in advance and wish you all a happy weekend.

 

[Tarheel]

You could use "I don't want to be" to mean you don't want to exist.

(I have never understood the "Thank you in advance" thing.)

 

[zhanghuck83]

You could use "I don't want to be" to mean you don't want to exist.

(I have never understood the "Thank you in advance" thing.)

Thank you so much.
I hope I haven't misused the expression 'thank you in advance'.
thank you in advance:
An expression of gratitude said to someone in written communication, especially email, when one has asked them to do something, answer a question, or provide some information.
e.g.
Please let me know as soon as you have confirmation from the board. Thank you in advance.
Thank you in advance for your help with this issue.

 

[emsr2d2]

We know what it means but we discourage its use on the forum. One of the reasons is simply that it makes posts longer than they need to be, but it's also totally unnecessary. We have a useful "Thanks" icon that users can attach to any post they find helpful. Keep all posts short and to the point - no greeting, no "Thank you in advance", no "Regards" or similar" and no signature.

It's fine to use it in a formal letter or email (such as the example you gave above) but here it's just a waste of space and words.

 

[Tarheel]

Thank you so much.
I hope I haven't misused the expression 'thank you in advance'.
thank you in advance:
An expression of gratitude said to someone in written communication, especially email, when one has asked somebody to do something, answer a question, or provide some information.
e.g.
Please let me know as soon as you have confirmation from the board. Thank you in advance.
Thank you in advance for your help with this issue.

You went to the trouble of explaining it to me, which presumes I don't understand it.

You said yourself that it's an expression of gratitude for something that the person hasn't done (and might never do).

I was taught at a young age to say "Thank you" when somebody does something for me. I was not taught to say "Thank you" when they hadn't done anything.

What you haven't explained is the point of it. You said you hope you haven't misused it. I don't get that. What is its use?

I suggest that you be more patient.

 

[emsr2d2]

(I have never understood the "Thank you in advance" thing.)

You went to the trouble of explaining it to me, which presumes I don't understand it.

To be fair, @Tarheel, you said in post #6 that you've never understood it so I don't think it's unreasonable that the OP "presumed" that you don't understand it. It wasn't even a presumption! It was based on your own statement.

 

[Tarheel]

To be fair, @Tarheel, you said in post #6 that you've never understood it so I don't think it's unreasonable that the OP "presumed" that you don't understand it. It wasn't even a presumption! It was based on your own statement.

 

[Holmes]

As said in some grammar books, when it comes to eclipse in infinitive phrases, ‘be’ cannot be omitted, for example:
I am not successful, but I want to be.
( but I want to. ×)
Is it really wrong to say ‘but I want to’ in this case? And why?

I believe the wrongness has to do with the fact that the copula "be" is at once a main verb and an auxiliary verb (it is a main verb that has the properties of auxiliary verbs), and infinitival "to" only licenses elipsis for main-verb verb phrases, not auxiliary-verb verb phrases.

I have inferred this explanation from the fact that the same phenomenon in infinitival clauses can be found with "be" as a progressive auxiliary verb, "be" as a passive auxiliary verb, and "have" as a perfective auxiliary. In each case, we cannot have elipsis after "to" alone, but require the auxiliary verb:

Progressive-Auxiliary "Be"

John is not dancing with them, but he wants to be dancing with them.
John is not dancing with them, but he wants to be.
John is not dancing with them, but he wants to.

Passive-Auxiliary "Be"

John has not been massaged by Jane, but he wants to be massaged by Jane.
John has not been massaged by Jane, but he wants to be.
John has not been massaged by Jane, but he wants to.

Perfective-Auxiliary "Have"

Shakespeare may not have written this play, but he is believed to have written it.
Shekespeare may not have written this play, but he is believed to have.
Shakespeare may not have written this play, but he is believed to.

Incidentally, I believe there is an exception to the rule in the case of "be"-imperatives -- in responses to "be"-imperatives, that is -- perhaps because "be" is not functioning as a mere copula in this type of case. Indeed, it would sound wrong to me to use "be" in the response:

A: Be successful!
B: I don't want to.
?*I don't want to be.

 

[kadioguy]

What did you say in post #11, @Tarheel ? We can't see it due to some problems happening on the forum yesterday.

 

[jutfrank]

Thank you so much for your kind help, Barque, Tarheel and jutfrank.

I’m still puzzled over the compulsory use of ‘be’, especially when there is no room for confusion over the ‘form/tense’ of ‘be’, or when it is not possible to retain ‘be’.

For instance,

1) Gatsby wants to be rich, but I don’t. How about using ‘but I don’t want to be.’ or ‘but I don’t want to.’?

Yes. No.

2) Gatsby wants to be rich and have a high social status, but I don’t. In this case, we cannot use ‘but I don’t want to be’ instead, right?

Wrong, we can.

How about ‘but I don’t want to.’?

No, that's wrong.

I don't (want to be rich).
I don't want to (be rich).
I don't want to be (rich).

 

[Tarheel]

To be fair, @Tarheel, you said in post #6 that you've never understood it so I don't think it's unreasonable that the OP "presumed" that you don't understand it. It wasn't even a presumption! It was based on your own statement.

You are right. I should have worded the first one differently.