Base 2 + Tai verbs
 

Hi there!
I have a problem with base 2 + tai verbs.
If I have to say I want to go I say:
1) ikitai (plain form)
2) ikitai desu (honorific form)
is this right?

And another question.. how do i get the negative form? I've read somewhere that I say:
ikitakunai
but somewhere else I've read that I have to say:
ikitaku wa nai
What form is the right one?

And about the past form, is this right?
1)ikitai deshita (positive gentle form)
2)ikitaku wa arimasen (negative gentle form)
3)ikitakatta (negative plain form)
4) positive plain form????

Corrections below (In bold).

I have a problem with base 2 + tai verbs.
If I have to say I want to go I say:
1) ikitai (plain form)
(2) ikitai desu (honorific form)>>>polite speech
is this right?

And another question.. how do i get the negative form? I've read somewhere that I say:
ikitakunai >>>>this is the correct negative form
but somewhere else I've read that I have to say:
ikitaku wa nai >>>>NOT a ~tai negative form
What form is the right one?

And about the past form, is this right?
1)ikitai deshita (positive gentle form)
2)ikitaku wa arimasen (negative gentle form)>>>>NOT a ~tai negative form
3)ikitakatta (negative plain form) >>>>past tense plain
4) positive plain form????

See below:
(plain) ikitai/ikitakunai
(polite) ikitai desu/ikitakunai desu

(negative plain) ikitakatta/ikitakunakatta
(negative polite) ikitakatta desu/ikitakunakatta desu

So how do you translate "I didn't want to go" in the plain form?

I don't want to go. (Ikitakunai)

I didn't want to go. (Ikitakunakatta)

and how do you say "I didn't want to go" in gentle form?

Is たい a special class of I adjectives? I learnt that to make negative of I adjectives either form くないーくはない　and くありませんーくはりません　are correct.

Yes, the form used with ikitaku wa nai is not incorrect.
It just carries quite a different nuance from simply saying ikitakunai. In other words, you can`t always substitute one for the other.

Yes, in a way. It is conjugated exactly like an い-adjective.

The red highlights are not correct.

行きたくはない and 行きたくはありません are things that can and are said. I`ve never heard anyone say 行きたくありません, though it is technically correct.

今日の運動会行きたくはないんですけど、行くしかない ･･･　親ってつらいものですよぉ

それは親の義務なんです、行きたくなくても。
/says someone without both children and an undokai to go to. have fun by the way.

I have never heard 行きたくありません except on a bad morning drama.

Do men use 行きたくはない?

Yes, why not? Men use it too. It's like an obligation thing and that you have force or drag yourself to do a certain job or errand.

I don`t particularly think it`s a gender related thing.
It does have quite a different nuance than just the 行きたくない. If you`re saying 行きたくはない, chances are you`re going to follow it with けど or が.

行きたくはないが、気になる etc

You`re saying that you don`t exactly want to go, but... something or other.

I hate grammar book...they always give these things as "pick which one you like coz they are the same!". Then you talk to some native speaker and they say they have a difference.

All these little "nuance" that you find here and there are so hard to understand for us foreigners. For example I have someone trying to explain me additional uses of は and I really don't see all those differences. I had finally reached the point to kinda understand the "nuance"of a phrase like　私に息子がいます　and 私には息子がいます...but now I find out that I can even say 私は息子がいます...man I wish I could put in a Japanese man what Japanese learners feels like in these cases :p

That is why lessons are taught one step at a time. When it is supposed to go from lesson 1-2-3-4-5, you're at lesson 2 and you picked up a new phrase of lesson 5 standard from an anime or through discussions at a forum, and you get all confused.

Believe me, the more you learn, the more you find yourself getting confused over things. Don't rush yourself, otherwise your interest in the subject will wane very fast.

The most important thing is to completely understand and be confident in the level that you are working on before moving on to the next level. This way, your foundation will be well covered and it'll be less confusing for you.

Have fun and go easy.

Always assume there is a difference. In general, when it comes to simple patterns, there are virtually never two patterns that mean the exact same thing. If they did, there would be no need for another version. Every pattern has it`s own nuance and "rules".

But those are hard to remember at first... So most books resort to listing them all as the same meaning with the hope that as you progress and have more exposure to the language you`ll pick up on the subtle differences. A lot of those differences would be very hard to explain in text without quite a bit of context.
If the book never introduced them at all, learners would be stuck unable to comprehend anything but the simplest set patterns - which isn`t a good thing for a learner.

So,
1)I want to go (plain)=ikitai
2)I want to go (gentle)=ikitai desu
3)I don't want to go (plain)=ikitakunai
4)I don't want to go (gentle)=ikitaku arimasen
5)I wanted to go (plain)=ikitakatta
6)I wanted to go (gentle)=ikitakatta desu
7)I didn't want to go (plain)=ikitakunakatta
8)I didn't want to go (gentle)=ikitaku arimasen deshita
is this right?

I would go with ikitakunai desu and ikitakunakatta desu for those two.