didn't want to

ne voulait pas

→ do
phrase Extremely common #226
ne voulait pas S’emploie avant un verbe à l’infinitif pour exprimer un refus ou une absence de désir dans le passé.
EN: I didn't want to leave early.
FR: Je ne voulais pas partir tôt.

Then why did you come here if you didn't want to talk to me?

Alors, pourquoi es-tu venu(e) ici si tu ne voulais pas me parler ?

— Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)

Tom didn't want to do anything.

Tom ne voulait rien faire.

Tom didn't want to talk.

Tom ne voulait pas parler.

Tom didn't want to go there with Mary.

Tom ne voulait pas y aller avec Mary.

He didn't want to leave.

Il ne voulait pas partir.

Tom didn't want to talk to anyone.

Tom ne voulait parler à personne.

We didn't want to lose what we had because we were afraid of being alone.

Nous ne voulions pas perdre ce que nous avions parce que nous avions peur de nous retrouver seuls.

— Solo Mio (2026)

He didn't want to sell the book.

Il ne voulait pas vendre le livre.

Sami didn't want to put himself or his dog in a position of danger.

Sami ne voulait pas se mettre en danger, ni y exposer son chien.

Stefan didn't want to be with Amelia for another second.

Stefan ne voulait pas rester une seconde de plus avec Amelia.

Mary didn't want to disappoint her father.

Mary ne voulait pas décevoir son père.

Tom didn't want to admit that he was scared.

Tom ne voulait pas admettre qu’il avait peur.

The door didn't want to close.

La porte ne voulait pas se fermer.

Tom didn't want to work overtime on Christmas Eve.

Tom ne voulait pas faire d'heures supplémentaires la veille de Noël.

The one you didn't want to let in?

Celui que tu ne voulais pas laisser entrer ?

— All About My Mother (1999)

Tom said he didn't want to speak in French.

Tom a dit qu’il ne voulait pas parler français.

He didn't want to be.

Il ne voulait pas l’être.

— Summertime (1955)

Sami didn't want to testify.

Sami ne voulait pas témoigner.

Sami didn't want to get Layla involved.

Sami ne voulait pas mêler Layla à cette histoire.

Tom didn't want to get fired.

Tom ne voulait pas se faire licencier.

This guy didn't want to come and give you the check.

Ce type ne voulait pas venir te donner le chèque.

— GoodFellas (1990)

Tom didn't want to disappoint his parents.

Tom ne voulait pas décevoir ses parents.

Tom didn't want to get involved.

Tom ne voulait pas s’en mêler.

Tom told Mary John didn't want to do that.

Tom a dit à Mary que John ne voulait pas faire ça.

Tom didn't want to come to Australia with us.

Tom ne voulait pas venir en Australie avec nous.

Because he didn't want to lose face, he refused my offer to help him.

Comme il ne voulait pas perdre la face, il a refusé mon offre de l’aider.

We didn't want to change anything.

Nous ne voulions rien changer.

We didn't want to get in his way.

Nous ne voulions pas lui mettre des bâtons dans les roues.

They didn't want to listen to what I had to say.

Ils ne voulaient pas écouter ce que j'avais à dire.

Tom didn't want to testify against Mary.

Tom ne voulait pas témoigner contre Mary.

Tom didn't want to disappoint Mary.

Tom ne voulait pas décevoir Mary.

He felt really lousy and didn't want to get up.

Il se sentait vraiment mal et ne voulait pas se lever.

— It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)

Tom didn't want to lose.

Tom ne voulait pas perdre.

Sami didn't want to call his stepfather "Dad."

Sami ne voulait pas appeler son beau-père « papa ».

Tom didn't want to think about it anymore.

Tom ne voulait plus y penser.

They didn't want to leave you two.

Ils ne voulaient pas vous laisser tous les deux.

— Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

Tom didn't want to become an architect like his dad.

Tom ne voulait pas devenir architecte comme son père.

Tom didn't want to throw anything away.

Tom ne voulait rien jeter.

I'm not sure why Tom didn't want to meet Mary.

Je ne sais pas trop pourquoi Tom ne voulait pas rencontrer Mary.

Tom told me he didn't want to move to Boston.

Tom m’a dit qu’il ne voulait pas déménager à Boston.

You didn't want to come.

Tu ne voulais pas venir.

— Solaris (1972)

Tom didn't want to have anything to do with me.

Tom ne voulait rien avoir à faire avec moi.

You didn't want to.

Tu ne voulais pas.

— Three Colors: Blue (1993)

Stefan didn't want to call.

Stefan ne voulait pas appeler.

He didn't want to talk about it further.

Il ne voulait pas en parler davantage.

Tom didn't want to get married, but his parents forced him to.

Tom ne voulait pas se marier, mais ses parents l’y ont forcé.

Tom didn't want to wait.

Tom ne voulait pas attendre.

You threw away Woosung because you didn't want to make him a murderer's child.

Tu as abandonné Woosung parce que tu ne voulais pas en faire l’enfant d’un meurtrier.

— Broker (2022)

Tom didn't want to come here, but he came anyway.

Tom ne voulait pas venir ici, mais il est quand même venu.

He didn't want to say anything to me.

Il ne voulait rien me dire.

Tom didn't want to do that.

Tom ne voulait pas faire ça.

He didn't want to shake my hand.

Il ne voulait pas me serrer la main.

They didn't want to trade.

Ils ne voulaient pas échanger.

— Prisoner of the Mountains (1996)

Sami didn't want to get fired.

Sami ne voulait pas se faire licencier.

Tom didn't want to marry a woman who wanted children.

Tom ne voulait pas épouser une femme qui voulait avoir des enfants.

They didn't want to spend much time talking about it.

Ils ne voulaient pas passer beaucoup de temps à en parler.

Tom asked a few questions that Mary didn't want to answer.

Tom a posé quelques questions auxquelles Mary ne voulait pas répondre.

Tom didn't want to leave his dog with me.

Tom ne voulait pas me laisser son chien.

Some of them didn't want to let a guy inside.

Certaines d’entre elles ne voulaient pas laisser entrer un homme.

— Battle Royale (2000)

Sami didn't want to date anyone.

Sami ne voulait sortir avec personne.

Tom didn't want to believe me.

Tom ne voulait pas me croire.

They said they didn't want to sleep.

Ils ont dit qu’ils ne voulaient pas dormir.

Tom didn't want to go to the park.

Tom ne voulait pas aller au parc.

We didn't want to get in your way.

Nous ne voulions pas vous gêner.

You didn't want to come, and I was calling you for the night shift.

Tu ne voulais pas venir, et je t'appelais pour le service de nuit.

— A Fantastic Woman (2017)

He didn't want to do it.

Il ne voulait pas le faire.

It was obvious Tom didn't want to buy it.

Il était évident que Tom ne voulait pas l’acheter.

Tom told me he didn't want to live in Boston.

Tom m’a dit qu’il ne voulait pas vivre à Boston.

Is this the reason you didn't want to come with me?

Est-ce pour cette raison que tu ne voulais pas venir avec moi ?

They didn't want to work with you anymore.

Ils ne voulaient plus travailler avec toi.

— La Strada (1954)

Tom didn't want to talk about what had happened.

Tom ne voulait pas parler de ce qui s’était passé.

Tom didn't want to listen to reason.

Tom ne voulait rien entendre.

We didn't want to upset you.

Nous ne voulions pas te contrarier.

— All About My Mother (1999)

Dan didn't want to seem shy.

Dan ne voulait pas avoir l’air timide.

Tom didn't want to follow in his father's footsteps.

Tom ne voulait pas suivre les traces de son père.

I understand why Tom didn't want to do that.

Je comprends pourquoi Tom ne voulait pas faire ça.

Tom didn't want to play golf with Mary's father.

Tom ne voulait pas jouer au golf avec le père de Mary.

Tom didn't want to sit next to me.

Tom ne voulait pas s'asseoir à côté de moi.

Tom said he didn't want to eat anything.

Tom a dit qu'il ne voulait rien manger.

You didn't want to when she was awake.

Tu ne voulais pas quand elle était réveillée.

— The Big Sick (2017)

We had one guy who didn't want to undress for the shower.

Il y avait un gars qui ne voulait pas se déshabiller pour prendre sa douche.

— The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

I was stubborn too and didn't want to confide in my parents.

Moi aussi, j’étais têtu(e) et je ne voulais pas me confier à mes parents.

— The 400 Blows (1959)

Sami didn't want to talk to the police.

Sami ne voulait pas parler à la police.

We didn't want to wake you up.

Nous ne voulions pas te réveiller.

— Talk to Her (2002)

John didn't want to come back.

John ne voulait pas revenir.