Re: shifting usage of "want"

Hi!

Philip Newton writes:
>...
> Interestingly, IML in German, "schmecken" can go without an adjective
> primarily in negative and interrogative contexts
No such restriction for me.

> -- both "Na, schmeckt's?" (Well, tastes it?) and "Nein, es schmeckt
> nicht" (No, it tastes not) are fine, but ?"Ja, es schmeckt" (Yes, it
> tastes) is not quite the same; I'd be tempted to say "Ja, es
> schmeckt gut" (Yes, it tastes good) instead.
I'd say 'Ja, es schmeckt'.

> On a similar note, consider "Ich muss mal!" -- which is literally "I
> must <particle>", with the verb ("to go to the toilet") understood.
> English has "Mom, I have to go!" with the destination understood but
> still with a mandatory main verb.
>
> And also "Ich möchte auf deinen Arm" (I want [sc. to go] onto your
> arm)/"Ich möchte nicht ins Bett" (I don't want [sc. to go] to bed),
> with an omitted-but-understood verb.
Dutch is also famous for this:

   Openbaar eten   mag.
   public   eating may

Standard German allows this in many sentences, as you showed in your
examples, and my own dialect allows even more auxiliaries without main
verb:

   Kann ich noch ein Bier?
   Can  I   another  beer

Many people I know wouldn't consider this grammatical.

It's just like in Dutch, though:

   Mag ik nog een biertje?
   May I  another beer-DIMIN

**Henrik