Would

[nouamaneer]

Dear,

I need to know why 'live' can't be used with 'would' in the following example: I would live. Used to talk about past states. The right version is 'used to live'. But i'm lacking a justification. 'live' is not a stative verb, so why it can't be used with 'would'.

Thanks for answering,

[birdeen's call]

Why do you think "live" is not a stative verb?

[nouamaneer]

Thanks for your reply.

First, i have never seen it in any list of stative verbs. All list i got in hand are bereft of that verb. Second and if my memory serve me well, i have seen that verb being used in the present perfect continuous, a thing that defies thet rule of stative verbs use. That of not being used with continuous tenses.

P.S.: If you have got a more exaustive list of stative verbs, i would really appreciate it if i can have it,

[birdeen's call]

Please capitalize the word "I".

"Live" can be either stative or dynamic, depending on the context. When it means "be alive", it's stative.

PS: I'm sorry, I didn't refer to your original question. You won't see "would live" to mean used to live. Note that even when used as an active verb, "live" won't denote a repetitive action.

[Masood_S]

I need to know why 'live' can't be used with 'would' in the following example: I would live. Used to talk about past states.

Hello,

Your premise is incorrect. 'live' can be used with 'would'.

e.g.
During the summer months, I would live with my grandparents in their country house.

Cheers

[Masood_S]

You won't see "would live" to mean used to live.

Hello/Czesc,

Yes you will. See my example above.

Cheers

[birdeen's call]

Hello/Czesc,

Yes you will. See my example above.

Cheers

Cześć.

This is a good counterexample.

[nouamaneer]

Thanks once again for the reply. Too, for the correction; though I was hasty in writing my reply, that's why I made the mistake. But, thanks anyway for reminding us of the rule.

Let me reframe my situation. You said that 'live' can be both dynamic and static and you set the shade of meaning, 'be alive' as sative. Could you set another example where the same verb is dynamic.

Second, how could you justify the use of 'would' in the following example as wrong:

My parents would live in a cottage in the country before they moved to the city centre.

Just to remind you the sentence is ungrammatical. Possibilities of correction are:

1- Used to. 2- lived. 3- were living.

Thanks once more,

[birdeen's call]

Take a good look at Masood's example, it's very good. I was wrong---I didn not think of this. It's also an example of an active meaning of "live". Another one:

I'm living an active life.

In your sentence, "used to" fits the context nicely.

[Barb_D]

I was writing sentences in my head from the first post on, until I got to yours.

Even if you refute this sentence because it means "to reside" instead of "to be alive" there are others.

We had a bunch of hamsters as children. They would live maybe 18 months, or two years, and then we'd move on to the next. We had the highest rodent mortality rate in the neighborhood. But we loved them all!