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Part 1 ยท Episode 37 A2-B1

I Want to Learn

๐Ÿ“ want/need/would like + to

Frederick Douglass ยท 1830s: Secret education ๐Ÿ“– 5 min read

Episode 37: I Want to Learn

want/need/would like + to โ€” Frederick Douglass, 1830s (A2-B1)

Grammar Box

Meaning: These verbs express desire, necessity, and polite wishes. They always take to-infinitive (to + base verb). Want shows desire. Need shows necessity. Would like is the polite form of want.

Form: want/need/would like + to + base verb

Example 1: I want to learn English. (desire)

Example 2: I need to practice more. (necessity)

Common mistake: Wrong: I want learn. Better: I want to learn.

The Question

Luna made a list of her goals. “I want learn English.” She stopped. Something felt wrong. “I want to learn English.” Better. But why the “to”? “Professor, why do some verbs need ‘to’ after them? What’s the pattern?” The watch glowed brightly. Professor Wisdom appeared. “Let’s meet someone whose desire to learn changed history.”

The Journey

Maryland, 1833. A dark basement. A young enslaved boy hid behind old barrels. Frederick was 15 years old. He held a stolen newspaper. He couldn’t read it yet. But he wanted to learn. Desperately. Dangerously.

Slavery was cruel. But Frederick understood something. Physical chains were terrible. Mental chains were worse. Slave owners knew this too. They made reading illegal for enslaved people. They needed to keep them ignorant. Knowledge meant power. Power meant freedom.

Frederick’s master’s wife had started teaching him the alphabet. Then her husband stopped her. “If he learns to read, he won’t want to be a slave anymore,” the man said. He was right. Frederick wanted to be free. He needed to read. He would like to write his own story someday.

So Frederick taught himself. He traded bread with poor white children. They gave him reading lessons. He copied letters from ship signs. He practiced writing in the dirt. Every night, he studied by candlelight. His desire burned brighter than the flame.

“I want to understand everything,” he whispered to himself. “I need to know the truth. I would like to write about freedom someday.”

He used these words carefully. “Want to” showed his deep desire. “Need to” showed the necessity. “Would like to” showed his dream, his hope for the future.

Years later, Frederick Douglass became a famous writer. An abolitionist. A free man. He spoke to thousands. He wrote books. He advised presidents. All because he wanted to learn. He needed to grow. He would have liked to give up sometimes, but he never did.

Luna watched young Frederick study in the darkness. His fingers traced each letter slowly. His lips moved silently. Reading wasn’t just a skill. It was rebellion. It was hope. It was the key to his chains.

The basement smelled of damp earth and old wood. But to Frederick, it smelled like possibility. Every word he learned made him more free. Even before his body was released, his mind escaped.

The Insight

Professor Wisdom spoke warmly. “Notice how Frederick used ‘want to,’ ‘need to,’ and ‘would like to’? These verbs always need the infinitive form after them. The infinitive is ‘to + base verb.'”

“‘Want to’ expresses desire. ‘I want to learn.’ ‘Need to’ expresses necessity. ‘I need to study.’ ‘Would like to’ is the polite form of ‘want to.’ ‘I would like to improve.'”

“Never say ‘I want learn’ or ‘I need study.’ Always add ‘to.’ This pattern is fixed. Want to. Need to. Would like to. Many English verbs follow this pattern: hope to, plan to, decide to, try to.”

“Frederick’s story shows us something beautiful. Verbs about desire and decision need ‘to’ because they point forward. Toward the future. Toward action. Toward change.”

Practice Zone

More Examples:

  1. “She wants to become a doctor.” โ€” expressing desire
  2. “We need to leave now.” โ€” showing necessity
  3. “I would like to help you.” โ€” polite offer
  4. “They hope to travel next year.” โ€” future plan
  5. “He decided to change jobs.” โ€” past decision
  6. “Do you want to try?” โ€” question form

Exercises:

  1. Fill in the blank: “I want _ ___ a new language.” (learn)

  2. Choose the correct:
    a) I need study harder.
    b) I need to study harder.

  3. Complete the sentence: “She would like _ ___ a book.” (write)

  4. Fix the mistake: “They want learn English.”

  5. Your turn: Write three sentences about your goals using want to, need to, and would like to.

Answer Key:

  1. to learn
  2. b) I need to study harder
  3. to write
  4. “They want to learn English.”
  5. Check: Did you use “to” after want/need/would like? Is each sentence about a different goal?

The Lesson

Luna wrote her new goals carefully. “I want to speak English fluently. I need to practice every day. I would like to help others learn too.” Each sentence pointed forward. Toward action. Toward growth. Frederick Douglass taught her something powerful. Desire without action is just a dream. But desire with the right words becomes a plan. “To” is small. But it’s the bridge between wanting and doing. Grammar doesn’t just describe. It directs us forward.