would like to 是表示原意、乐意做某事,语气更诚恳、有礼貌;want to表示想要做某事或表达某一种想法。
1、与顾客或他人打交道时,通常用用would like to,可以含有满足别人愿望、希望的意思。如:
I would like something to drink.我想喝点东西。
Would you like something to drink?你想喝点什么吗?
不提请求只谈愿望的话,want to更自信。
2、表邀请时would like to和want to不能互换。want to只表示一种询问,不表示邀请。
3、在过去时中这两种形式的变化不同,间接引语中,want可以变为wanted,但是would like没有变化。如:
Tom said:" I would like/ want to see it."Tom说:“我想看看它。”
变为转述句就是:Tom said he would like to see it.如果用want to的话就是:
Tom said he wanted to see it. want在这里有过去时态,而would没有。