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Ask for help > Confusing grammar. Help needed
Confusing grammar. Help needed
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Lusi12
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Confusing grammar. Help needed
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Your help is needed to explain certain grammar points. Can I use any modal verbs with used to and would in the meaning of the past habit? In the sentence from my textbook I need to choose one incorrect answer: �These women used to need/ would need/ needed the help of at least one other person to do the corset up. � According to the answer keys the incorrect answer is used to need. How does used to need differ from would need then? There is also a similar example with have to which is only possible with would but not with used to. �Only poor women who couldn �t afford servants didn �t use to have to/ wouldn �t have to/ didn �t have to wear corsets. � Thank you in advance. |
9 Mar 2016
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alien boy
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�Used to need� describes a past habit that is no longer current. �Used to� focuses on the habit, not the duration or frequency of the habit. �Would�, for former routines,�is used to express an activity that was routine, frequently repeated, or typical behaviour. � So, to rephrase�the sentence using �used to�, it would be something like this: � These women�used to need the help of at least one person to do the corset up, but now they can do it up themselves! � How do you think that�distinction in meaning would apply to your other example? � Cheers, AB� � � �
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9 Mar 2016
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Lusi12
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I think I can see the difference now. would is used instead of used to to show an activity that was routine, frequently repeated. |
9 Mar 2016
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Eneya
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�Would � and �used to � are synonyms when it comes to routines of the past. They both can be used with identical meaning, just as you could use the past simple: As a little boy, I used to play tennis. As a little boy, I would play tennis. As a little boy, I played tennis. When it comes to stative verbs (non-action verbs) we cannot use �used to �, but only �would � or the past simple. When I was younger, I would love going to the movies. When I was younger, I loved going to the movies. When I was younger, I used to love going to the movies. |
10 Mar 2016
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Matthew@ELSP
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Please also note that there seems to be a slight difference in the way American English speakers and British English speakers use these phrases. Taking as an exmaple Eneya �s sentence: When I was younger, I would love going to the movies. To me, as a British English speaker, this seems both unnatural and quite strange. When I hear ~would~ with reference to past habits in (American) movies, I often feel that it is strange to my ears. Certainly I would not say this and did not grow up hearing it. |
10 Mar 2016
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Lusi12
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To
Considering the fact that you are a British English speaker, I �d rather you explained me why it is possible to use the modal verbs need or have to after would in the meaning of past habit, though according to the rules would (in this meaning) is not used with stative verbs. Thank you in advance. |
10 Mar 2016
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alien boy
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Hi Lusi12 � �Would ��is not used with�stative verbs such as�love, be, understand,�and�feel�, whereas �used to � can be. � �Would ��also requires a subordinate clause. � �Would � also should not be used unless it has already been established that�the time frame is in the past, while�used to does not require this. � So,�to use the �would � and �used to ��examples provided by Eneya as a base: � As a little boy I used to play tennis.���� (correct) As a little boy I would play tennis.������ (incorrect) As a little boy I would play tennis�every weekend�during summer.� (correct)� I would play tennis�as a little boy.������� (incorrect)
When I was younger I would love going to the movies.��� �(incorrect) When I was younger I would love going to the movies with my father. (incorrect) When I was younger I used to love going to the movies.� �(correct) � If any of the grammar experts out there can provide further detail & feedback. I �d love to read it too! � Cheers, AB� � |
11 Mar 2016
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ldeloresmoore
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Matthew - That sounds strange to this American as well. I �d say: As a child, I would play in my grandmother �s garden for hours. This stresses the fact that a) it was something repeated many times, and b) each time lasted for several hours. |
11 Mar 2016
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almaz
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There seems to be some confusion here about different types of verbs, so it might be helpful to point out that need in the examples given is not a modal verb. According to Huddleston & Pullum, for example, it " behaves as a modal auxiliary when it has a bare infinitival complement" (e.g. � Need we tell anyone?� � She needn�t go� etc.). Otherwise, it�s a lexical verb. Likewise with have to, whether it refers to obligation or necessity. Think about what distinguishes modals from all other verbs: there is a lack of secondary inflectional forms (plain, gerund-participle, past participle) and there are no special 3rd person singular forms. Compare: I must work late tonight I have to work late tonight I had to work late last night and He must work late tonight He has to work late tonight He had to work late last night I hope this helps clear things up a little, or at least provide some more food for thought, since identifying the class of verb would obviously have some impact on the appropriate choice of verb/s (when can one auxiliary follow another, for instance?). Alex
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11 Mar 2016
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