"as i want","as i want to","as i want to be"

Question

for the first time he saw himself (as he had always wanted to be).
在以上句子中，as i want to be能否去掉“be"或”to be",为什么？

Answer 1

for the first time he saw himself (as he had always wanted to be)
他平生第一次看到他自己（变成了他一直想要变成的那个样子）
首先to动词不定式后面要跟动词原型，所以as i want to be是可以的，但是as i want to就没有这种方式，to后面必须有个to的对象，那怕是to be
其次，as i want=如同我想要的，as i want to be=如同我想要变成的那个样子，中文感觉区别不大，实际上在英文的语法里差别比较大：
as i want---as的对象是want的宾语，可以是一个样子，也可以是一个梦想，或一个很想要的东西
as i want to be---as的对象是to be的表语，就是想要变成的样子