[shun]

I said: If someone asks you why you are on the train, you may of course tell him "I go to work by train", while on the train.

Originally Posted by MrPedantic

I'm afraid you've misunderstood me.
I said you would not expect to say "I go to work by train" while on the train.
By this I mean, you would expect to say "I go to work by train" at a party, or when answering a questionnaire; but on the whole, people don't ask you how you get to work when you're sitting on a train.
(Trust me. I've gone to work by train very nearly since the age of steam. No one has ever asked me such a question.)

My reply: I am afraid you have stated it very clearly and there is no misunderstanding. What you have said is exactly what I mean. And you are wrong. We say it that way.

You are now arguing against yourself. You have answered why you haven't said "I go to work by train" while on the train: because no one has ever asked you such a question.

But trust me: IF someone asks you why you are on the train, you may of course tell him "I go to work by train", while on the train. It is absurd to claim that one cannot say a habit while one is doing the habit. Tell me again to say so is a mistake and you have found the first rule to guide students not to use Simple Present.

People don't know how to differentiate my three examples of expressing routines.

What do you say about my example "I live in Hong Kong" while in Hong Kong? Am I wrong? Isn't it same as saying "I go to work by train" while on the train?

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Without explanation, you have combined my example of using many sentences into one sentence, in order to keep "used to":

Originally Posted by MrPedantic

1. "He used to sit on the balcony in the early morning, enjoying the morning sun, drinking a cup of coffee, reading newspapers and listening to the music on the radio."
2. "He would sit on the balcony in the early morning. He would enjoy the morning sun, drink a cup of coffee, read newspapers and listen to the music on the radio."

My reply: I have deliberately shown you the example of not using "used to" and you shall not reconstruct it, in order to keep using "used to".

Are you announcing using many Simple Past sentences to say a habit is wrong, as in the following example?
Ex: "He would sit on the balcony in the early morning. He enjoyed the morning sun and drank a cup of coffee. He read newspapers and listened to the music on the radio."
== Tell me again it is wrong to use Simple Past here and I will end the discussion. But please don't reconstruct and combine it, so as to use "used to".

I have often accepted the opinion of my correspondents as the final say. But please don't avoid MY example of using many sentences to express a habit or routine.

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I have shown you an example of using Simple Past sentences to say a past habit, and you said:

Originally Posted by MrPedantic

This does not sound entirely idiomatic to me.

My reply: Actually, if you search "he was often", or "she did often", or "he usually liked" and see into the examples, you will see a past habit expressed in Simple Past. Do they all not sound entirely idiomatic to you?

Other than "used to", there are actually many ways to express a past habit. At least, "used to" itself is a Simple Past expression.

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Originally Posted by MrPedantic

I'm sorry, Shun, you have mostly misunderstood my meaning in that post. I'm afraid my explanations were insufficiently clear.
Ex 2 presents a routine/habitual occurrence: the routine/habit is expressed by "every day".

My reply: I am afraid it is clear enough. You have now admitted that the routine/habit is expressed by "every day". If so, Simple Present doesn't need to express routine/habit.

Simple Present at best describes a present habit. As for a past habit, you still use past tense. I am glad you have not denied "used to" as past tense, after all. You have finally accepted we use past tense to say a past habit.

Furthermore, you didn't deny every tense can say a habit, and Simple Present can express any Meanings such as "love". If knowing this, any young students may understand Simple Present has nothing to do with habit.

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It is strange. Every time you said I have misunderstood you, your clarification is exactly what I wanted to tell you. What a wonderful misunderstanding I have made!! Actually, we understand each other very well.