Can anyone help me with this please?
"I want you to know" versus "I wanted you to know."
Are they both grammatically correct and pretty much one and the same? I understand the difference of tense forms want/wanted, so please no lesson needed on that. I am sending a letter to a friend and I would like to thank him for all of his help. So should I use "I want you to know how much I appreciate your help" or "I wanted you to know how much I appreciate your help"? Insight needed please.
Best Answer
Both are correct but, as so often, it's a question of context:
I want you to know... is a direct way of bringing something, often unpleasant, to somebody's attention.
I wanted you to know... often implies that something had arisen which deterred the speaker from informing you earlier. It is also more likely to refer back.