In English we use “I would like to know…” to express curiosity or think about something that puzzles us. This quote is very useful in everyday conversations because we humans have an innate tendency to think and ponder.
In Italian, the phrase “” has three possible translations:I would like to know”. Curious enough to discover them? Then let’s take a look!
1. I want to know…
I would like to know is the first person singular conjugation of the verb Want to knowliterally means “ask yourself.” ask It means “to ask”.
- I wonder if… = I wonder if…
- I want to know who… = I want to know who…
- I would like to know)… = I would like to know
- I want to know where… = I want to know where…
- I wonder when… = I wonder when…
- I want to know how to… = I want to know how to…
- I want to know how much… = I want to know how much…
- I want to know why… = I want to know why…
I wonder who will come to the party.
I wonder who will come to the party.
2.I want to know…
There is another verb in Italian that means “ask yourself” – ask yourself – and I would like to know It is the first person singular form of this verb.between I would like to know and I would like to knowI would say the former is more common in daily language.
- I wonder if… = I wonder if…
- I want to know who… = I want to know who…
- I want to know (what) what… = I would like to know…
- I want to know where… = I want to know where…
- I wonder when… = I wonder when…
- I want to know how to… = I want to know how to…
- I want to know how much… = I want to know how much…
- I want to know why… = I want to know why…
Although ask and ask are considered synonyms, there is a subtle difference between them: you use ask when you want to know something, and ask When you want something. However, when in their reflexive form, they both mean “wanting to know.”
I wonder why we are afraid of spiders.
I would like to know Why are we afraid of spiders.
3. Who knows…
Literally translated as perhaps (from who knows) in reality”who knows”. That is, it can also mean “I wonder” when a clause starting with and (if) or a Question words.
- Who knows what if… = I wonder if…
- perhaps gas… = I want to know who…
- perhaps (What… = I would like to know…
- perhaps Pigeon… = I want to know where…
- perhaps when… = I wonder when…
- perhaps Come… = I want to know how to…
- perhaps How many… = I want to know how much…
- perhaps Why… = I want to know why…
perhaps How much do we need to pay.
I would like to know How much do we need to pay.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honors in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, fluent in English and Italian, as well as varying degrees of fluency in Japanese, Welsh and French. Originally from Toronto, Heather has lived in several countries, notably Italy for six years. Her main research areas are language acquisition, education and bilingual teaching.
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