Use a train

[Rachel Adams]

Would a native speaker say "I don't use trains" instead of saying "I never travel by train"?

 

[GoesStation]

It's more natural for me to say I don't take the train.

 

[Yankee]

It's not impossible.

Not impossible but not common. (AmE)

 

[tedmc]

Asians are more likely to say #2, though it goes better with the present perfect tense.

 

[tedmc]

a. Do you by #2 mean I never travel by train?
b. If so, why does it 'go better with the present perfect tense'?
c. Are you referring to Asian people who speak English as their first language?

1. Yes
2. As in : I have never done something or I will never do something. I think there is no need for never in the present tense.
3. Both as first and second language. "Never" is an overused word.

 

[tedmc]

An interesting thought. Have you any particular reason for thinking 'never' is acceptable with some verb forms but not with the present tense?

The word used with the past tense allows one to say on hindsight about things one has not done.
The word used with the future tense is like a pledge that someone would not do something.
The present tense is used with habitual actions. Things which one not done in the past does not mean one would definitely not do it in the future.

Are you saying that 'never' is overused by Asian speakers of English, or are you saying that we speakers of BrE and AmE overuse it?

I often see it used by Asians as a kind a emphasis for flat denial of not doing something. It is not a word to be used indiscriminately.