How do you make a statement about the past without saying anything about the present?

Question

If you say "I wanted to be a fireman" it implies you no longer want to be a fireman.
If you say "I wanted to be a fireman, but this isn't to say anything about the present" it implies you do still want to be a fireman.
Is there a way to talk about the past without saying anything about the present? In other words, can you get to "zero" about the present or are you stuck negating or not negating the previous statement in relation to the present?

Peter Shor · Accepted Answer

For most verbs, the simple past tense doesn't say anything about the present.
For example, consider:

I went skiing last winter.

It doesn't imply anything about whether or not you've given up skiing.
For the verb want, the simple past can sometimes (weakly) imply that the situation is no longer true. For example,

I wanted to be a fireman when I was five,

generally gives the impression that you no longer want to be a fireman. This is because, if you still want to be a fireman, you would instead say

I have wanted to be a fireman ever since I was five.

(Of course, you could also use I wanted to be a fireman when I was five if you are currently a fireman, but probably not if you still want to become a fireman.}
So use a different verb than want.

When I was five, I decided I wanted to be a fireman.
When I was five, I knew I wanted to be a fireman.

LPH · Answer

Saying that you wanted to be a fireman doe not say anything about your wishes at the time you say that. It's up to you to make precise what your desire is at the time of speaking; you can complete this sentence in either of two ways to the effect of asserting both possibilities.

I wanted to be a fireman, but I don't want to anymore.

I wanted to be a fireman, and I still do.

Therefore, you are not negating anything by the use of the past; the context you are part of at the moment of speaking might, however, do that. If, for example, you are known to be a successful artist by the people you are talking to and if in doing so you mention this wish of yours as one you remember from your childhood, indubitably what you call the negation of the previous statement does take place, but this is a fact that has to do only with this particular context; moreover it is not a linguistic phenomenon, in this case not a clear-cut deduction but a "logical" and psychological one that has no clear-cut truth value.

How do you make a statement about the past without saying anything about the present?

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