In linguistics, a desiderative (abbreviated DESI or DES) form is one that has the meaning of "wanting to X". Desiderative forms are often verbs, derived from a more basic verb through a process of morphological derivation. Desiderative mood is a kind of volitive mood.
Sanskrit
In Sanskrit, the desiderative is formed through the suffixing of /sa/ and the prefixing of a reduplicative syllable,[1] consisting of the first consonant of the root (sometimes modified) and a vowel, usually /i/ but /u/ if the root has an /u/ in it. Changes to the root vowel sometimes happen, as well. The acute accent, which indicates high pitch in Vedic, is usually placed at the first vowel.
For example:
| Base form | Meaning | Desiderative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| nayati | "he leads" | nínīṣati | "he wants to lead" |
| pibati | "he drinks" | pípāsati | "he wants to drink" |
| jīvati | "he lives" | jíjīviṣati | "he wants to live" |
Meadow Mari
In Meadow Mari, the desiderative mood is marked by the suffix -не -ne.
Positive present
| Person | 1st Dec. pos. | 2nd Dec. pos. |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Singular | лекнем2 (I want to go) | мондынем (I want to forget) |
| 2nd Singular | лекнет2 (You want to go) | мондынет (You want to forget) |
| 3rd Singular | лекнеже2 (He/she/it wants to go) | мондынеже (He/she/it wants to forget) |
| 1st Plural | лекнена2 (We want to go) | мондынена (We want to forget) |
| 2nd Plural | лекнеда2 (You want to go) | мондынеда (You want to forget) |
| 3rd Plural | лекнешт2 (They want to go) | мондынешт (They want to forget) |
Negative present
| Person | 1st Dec. neg. | 2nd Dec. neg. |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Singular | ынем лек2 (I don't want to go) | ынем мондо1 (I don't want to forget) |
| 2nd Singular | ынет лек2 (You don't want to go) | ынет мондо1 (You don't want to forget) |
| 3rd Singular | ынеже лек2 (He/she/it doesn't want to go) | ынеже мондо1 (He/she/it doesn't want to forget) |
| 1st Plural | ынена лек2 (We don't want to go) | ынена мондо1 (We don't want to forget) |
| 2nd Plural | ынеда лек2 (You don't want to go) | ынеда мондо1 (You don't want to forget) |
| 3rd Plural | ынешт лек2 (They don't want to go) | ынешт мондо1 (They don't want to forget) |
Japanese
In Japanese, the desiderative takes two main forms: -tai (-たい) and -tagaru (-たがる). Both forms conjugate for tense and positivity, but in different ways: with the -tai ending, the verb becomes an -i adjective, or a conjugable adjective, while the ending -tagaru (-tai + -garu suffix) creates a godan/yodan verb. Though there are other, compound forms to demonstrate wanting, these two alone are demonstrated because they are inflections of the main verb. These two forms are plain/informal in nature, and can be elevated to the normal-polite and other levels through normal methods.
-tai is an absolute statement of desire, whereas -tagaru indicates the appearance of desire. Generally, one does not say things such as 太郎さんが食べたい Tarō wants to eat because one cannot read Tarō's thoughts; instead, one says 太郎さんが食べたがる it appears that Tarō wants to eat.
Godan Verbs
| Tense/Aspect | -たい -tai |
-たがる -tagaru |
Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-past Positive | 書きたい kakitai |
書きたがる kakitagaru |
want(s) to write |
| Non-past Negative | 書きたくない kakitakunai |
書きたがらない kakitagaranai |
don't/doesn't want to write |
| Past Positive | 書きたかった kakitakatta |
書きたがった kakitagatta |
wanted to write |
| Past Negative | 書きたくなかった kakitakunakatta |
書きたがらなかった kakitagaranakatta |
didn't want to write |
Ichidan Verbs
| Tense/Aspect | -tai | -tagaru | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-past Positive | 食べたい tabetai |
食べたがる tabetagaru |
wants to eat |
| Non-past Negative | 食べたくない tabetakunai |
食べたがらない tabetagaranai |
don't/doesn't want to eat |
| Past Positive | 食べたかった tabetakatta |
食べたがった tabetagatta |
wanted to eat |
| Past Negative | 食べたくなかった tabetakunakatta |
食べたがらなかった tabetagaranakatta |
didn't want to eat |
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European likely had a desiderative. In some daughter languages like Indo-Iranian, Balto-Slavic and possibly Celtic, it acquired the meaning of a future tense.[1]