～たがる・～ほしがる

About

In order to describe someone else's wants and needs, we can attach the auxiliary verb がる to the end of a たい form verb. In order to attach がる we need to remove the final い from ～たい.

食たべたい "to want to eat" → 食たべたい → 食たべたがる "to show signs of wanting to eat"

がる can also be attached to the end of 欲ほしい to express that someone "wants something". This is also done by removing the final い.

欲ほしい → 欲ほしい → 欲ほしがる

がる can conjugate like any other godan verb. ～がった・がりました statements express past-tense wants, ～がっている statements express current wants, and ～がる statements express "general" wants.

The verb がる means "to show signs of" and ～たがる・～ほしがる statements are made based on observation.

Depending on the context, "want" statements made using がる can have a slightly selfish or childish nuance. ～たがる and ～ほしがる should not be used when talking with one's superiors.

Summary

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  You can attach the auxiliary verb がる to the end of a たい form verb or ほしい (both without the final い) to form an observational, third-person, "want" statement.

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  If がる is conjugated to がっている, it expresses someone's current wants.

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  If がる is conjugated to the past tense, it expresses past wants.

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  If がる is in the present tense, it expresses general wants.

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  がる "want" statements have a slight selfish/childish nuance, and are most often used with children and pets.