English Language Learners Asked on February 8, 2021
I want X out and I want X to be out have different meanings.
"I want Smith out" might mean...
"I want Smith to be out" might mean...
So "I want X out" carries the implication of forceful, long-term or permanent action (as in the landlord saying "I want the tenant out by Thursday" or the protester saying "I want the prime minister out!"), while "I want X to be out" suggests temporary absence (as in the teenager planning a party and wishing "I want my parents to be out on Saturday" - although "to go out", "to stay out", "to be away" might be more likely choices of phasing, as would "I hope they are out").
Answered by rjpond on February 8, 2021
I want him to be out is not very idiomatic. I want him out is a blunt way of saying, either that you want someone thrown out of a gathering of people, or that you want some official to lose their position.
In the first case you might say I want him to get out or I want him thrown out.
In the second case you might say I want him voted out.
Answered by Kate Bunting on February 8, 2021
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