I have been noticing this bad usage for a decade now. At least. Something like this:
If you are wanting to get rid of those weeds …
… when you should simply say:
If you want to get rid of those weeds …
I see wanting used like this all the time, and I change it all the time. Stop, for the love of Pete, stop! I ask you, does a mother say to her screaming toddler, "What are you wanting?" No, she does not. She says, "What do you want?" And she is correct.
The folks who are spreading this around didn't learn it in school, it's just a weird slang that has sprung up in recent years. Not in my generation, I should add. But … (she backs off) maybe I'm wrong. So I google it.
Question: Is it correct to say, "I'm wanting to"? And I found this on Quora (not the first place I go, but this will do). Answer: "Not really. Certain verbs rarely end up in present continuous form. These verbs include: want, have, love, like, hate, dislike, and prefer. (That is off my head. Look them up somewhere….) Now sometimes these verbs use present continuous, but these usages are exceptional. E.g. She is having a baby. = She is giving birth to a baby."*
Interesting. So I go to Grammarly to look up "present continuous." The simple, immediate answer is: "The present continuous verb tense indicates that an action or condition is happening now, frequently, and may continue into the future. … Do not use the present continuous tense with stative verbs. Stative verbs show a state of being that does not show qualities of change." Read the rest of the article, it's very good, has great examples. She points out the popular slogan for McDonald's: "I'm Lovin' It," which is grammatically incorrect. However, this sort of thing, we're told, marks the difference between grammar and style.
Then I look up "stative verb." Wikipedia tells us, "a stative verb is a verb that describes a state of being, in contrast to a dynamic verb, which describes an action." Stative verbs can't be used in the present progressive form.
Bottom line? I'm right. But, but … wanting is a word, right? Yes, it is. In both its adjectival and prepositional senses. Merriam-Webster tells us the adjective form is:
: not present or in evidence : absent
2a : not being up to standards or expectations
b : lacking in ability or capacity : deficient
Wanting means something is missing. I made up a sentence for that: The disappearance of my beloved left me wanting for affection.
The preposition form is:
1 : without
<a book wanting a cover>
2 : less, minus
<a month wanting two days>
Got it? This I am wanting to go to Miami business is wrong, and just because a lot of people say it doesn't make it correct usage. So stop.
I have two questions left to answer: When did this bad grammar habit start? And: How does one ignorant person cause stupid usage to go viral? How this stuff goes from one person to several, to the extent that it ends up in manuscripts that land on my desk for editing?
* Michael Chaplan, College English Teacher at Nihon University, School of Law (1975–present)
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