Grammar: Why use past tense when thanking people?

Question

I was recently asked by a foreign colleague of mine why people sometimes say, "I wanted to thank everyone...or what I wanted to do today is..." Can anyone shed light on this subject?

Answer 1

People frequently say things in past tense that would be just as correct in the present tense, and even sound more immediate. I think frequently we see the past tense version simply because it is longer. People sometimes like the extra verbiage for padding--to make speeches longer.

You could say:
I wanted to thank everyone...

It would sound better to say:

I want to thank everyone

Or

Thank you all.


They are all correct. They all could be followed by a variety of concepts. But if began: I wanted to thank you...you could segue into a past tense anecdote of your thought process as you thought about what you wanted to say.

If you said: I want to thank to thank you" you could follow up by directly addressing individuals in the room--or perhaps simply individuals on the face of the earth--but you would be doing so with a sense of immediacy because in the present tense, immediacy is what you have.

Your intent should define your word choice. Your intent should set the parameters.

Bear in mind that other languages don't have this much fluidity.

Answer 2

One of the great things about Yahoo Answers is that people make you do a double-take on things you have taken for granted. Your question is an excellent example of this.
I think the answer is that that form of expression feels less pretentious than alternatives such as, "I should like to thank everyone ..." or "I thank you all for ..." which might give the impression of a Presidential Inauguration.

Answer 3

English speakers often use past forms of verbs when they want to appear polite and tentative. That's why 'could you tell me...' sounds more diffident than 'can you tell me...'

In Britain at least a dentist's receptionist will often ask you 'what was the name?' rather than 'what is your name?' and shop assistants say 'were you wanting something?' rather than 'what do you want?'.

It's called 'remoteness' in linguistics, expressing a distance in time, possibility or relationship between speaker and hearer or speaker and proposition. In English it's expressed with past forms, so:

'We were really lucky last night!' - remoteness of time
'If you were to talk to him...' - remoteness of possibility
'Were you wanting the car tonight?' - remoteness of relationship.

So a person addressing a group and saying 'I just wanted to thank everyone' sounds more polite and tentative than one who says 'I want to thank everyone' although of course both ways are equally correct gramatically.

Answer 4

"did recently" also sounds weird. Are you writing this sentence yourself? What is "ca?" What is "a refresh facelift?" You have way more problems than receive vs. received, but in general received is past tense? I have no idea how to help you. This sentence is gibberish.

Answer 5

I guess it's used when you thought earlier about something, and are just now saying it or talking about it. So you're referring to the time when you came up with the idea.

Answer 6

It impplies you thought about it before you said it. It implies some thoughtfulness and seriousness about the subject.

Answer 7

Yes, and people say "I would like to thank..." when they should just say "Thank you to all the people who..."
If they would like to thank, just go ahead and do so.
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