Used to would do

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.

In sentences 1 and 2 it is wrong to use ''would'' because hate and be are stative verbs. Right? But would you use it in 3 and 4?

1. He used to hate school. Not ''would hate.''
2. I used to be good at French. Not ''Would be good''
3. They didn't use to behave well. Or ''Would behave?''
4. She didn't use to wear glasses. Or ''She woudn't wear glasses?''
5. Did you use to walk to school? Would you walk to school?
6.I used to have a car. Not ''I would have a car''.

Here in this video the teacher explains another exception when ''would'' can be used. I don't understand what exception he is talking about. One is when ''would'' is used ''sometimes'' ''often'' and''usually'' with temporary actions but the second?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFk5x2WupBY

"it is a great question, thank you. The thing is that normally "would” is not used with stative verbs to describe permanent states. However, there are exceptions. One of them is when "would" goes together with frequency adverbs (often, always), it is mentioned in the video, and another one, which is not in the video, is when the time or period when the action or activity happened is established, in your example it is the phrase "when I was young" and in my video it is "as a kid". However, there are also limitations: in my example using "like" would definitely create ambiguity and might lead to misunderstanding"

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm not sure I've quite understood your point but I think this is what you're suggesting:

3. They didn't use to behave well > They didn't would behave well.
4. She didn't use to wear glasses > She wouldn't wear glasses.

If that's the case, then the answer is "No" to both.

#3 could be worded as "[When they were six], they wouldn't behave well in class". That could be taken to mean that they refused to behave well, or simply that, habitually, they behaved badly. Bear in mind, though, that no native speaker would say that. We don't tend to use the "would" version in the negative.

When they were six, they would [regularly] misbehave in class.

With #4, using "wouldn't" only suggests to me that she refused to wear the glasses that she was supposed to wear.

 

[Rachel Adams]

I was asking if it was possible to use used to and would do interchangeably in these examples. In 1 ''He used to hate school.'' Is correct. ''He would hate school.'' Is not because ''hate'' is a stative verb. ''I used to be good at French.'' Is correct but ''I would be good at French'' is not. Because to be is a stative verb. In 3 and 4 I thought it was wrong to use ''would'' because as I read, you don't use ''would'' when you are talking about habits. But you said it is possible so it depends on the context. Am I right?

 

[emsr2d2]

I was asking if it was possible to use used to + bare infinitive and would [STRIKE]do[/STRIKE] + bare infinitive interchangeably in these examples.

In 1, ''He used to hate school (no full stop here)'' is correct. ''He would hate school (no full stop here)'' is not because ''hate'' is a stative verb.

''I used to be good at French (no full stop here)'' is correct but ''I would be good at French'' is not, because "to be" is a stative verb.

In 3 and 4, I thought it was wrong to use ''would'' because, as I read, you don't use ''would'' when you are talking about habits. But you said it is possible so it depends on the context. Am I right?

Please note my corrections above.

Yes, broadly, your understanding of why 1 and 2 don't work is correct.

With 3 and 4, I think you need to understand more about how "would" can have more than one meaning. The meaning comes from the context.

My son was a nightmare as a teenager. He would skip school, he would smoke in the garden and he would stay out all night without my permission.
In the above, "would" describes habitual actions. As you will have noticed, they are all in the positive.

My son was a nightmare as a teenager. He wouldn't go to school, he wouldn't listen to anything I said and he wouldn't stop smoking!
In the above, whilst also referring to habitual actions, the word "wouldn't" means "refused to".

 

[Rachel Adams]

Please note my corrections above.

Yes, broadly, your understanding of why 1 and 2 don't work is correct.

With 3 and 4, I think you need to understand more about how "would" can have more than one meaning. The meaning comes from the context.

My son was a nightmare as a teenager. He would skip school, he would smoke in the garden and he would stay out all night without my permission.
In the above, "would" describes habitual actions. As you will have noticed, they are all in the positive.

My son was a nightmare as a teenager. He wouldn't go to school, he wouldn't listen to anything I said and he wouldn't stop smoking!
In the above, whilst also referring to habitual actions, the word "wouldn't" means "refused to".

Then why does ''Practical English Usage'' say ''We use used to not would to talk about regular and important habitual behaviour?''The book's examples ''He used to play a lot of football.'' ''Not would play.'' ''I used to smoke.'' Not ''I would smoke.'' I undersnad that the meaning comes from the context but your examples, your positive statments are the same as book's examples. ''He would skip school'', ''He would smoke'' and the book's examples ''I used to smoke'' ''He used to play a lot of football.'' The book confuses me.

 

[emsr2d2]

The book is generally correct and I would teach learners to say "used to" not "would". So as a learning tool, the book is correct. Textbooks can't cover every point of everyday English usage though.

My first example in post #4 could use "used to" instead of "would" and many people would actually use/prefer "used to". There are several different ways to express the same thing:

My son was a nightmare as a teenager. He skipped school, smoked in the garden and stayed out all night without my permission.
My son was a nightmare as a teenager. He used to skip school, smoke in the garden and stay out all night without my permission.
My son was a nightmare as a teenager. He would skip school, smoke in the garden and stay out all night without my permission.

Native speakers would understand all three versions to mean the same thing - he exhibited those three behaviours habitually.

I strongly suggest that you stick to "used to" when talking about past habitual actions.

 

[Rachel Adams]

I strongly suggest that you stick to "used to" when talking about past habitual actions.

Thank you very much for your explanations. I understand now. I also wanted to ask about another exception the teacher mentioned in his video. He said with ''often'' ''usually'' and ''sometimes'' it is possible to use would. For example, ''He would often feel lonely.'' But he said there was yet another exception. Which important rule/exception is he talking about? I cannot find anything else in the books.

 

[jutfrank]

But he said there was yet another exception. Which important rule/exception is he talking about? I cannot find anything else in the books.

Tell us exactly where in the video he says that.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Tell us exactly where in the video he says that.

Not in the video but in one of his comments. I copied and pasted it.

"it is a great question, thank you. The thing is that normally "would” is not used with stative verbs to describe permanent states. However, there are exceptions. One of them is when "would" goes together with frequency adverbs (often, always), it is mentioned in the video, and another one, which is not in the video, is when the time or period when the action or activity happened is established, in your example it is the phrase "when I was young" and in my video it is "as a kid". However, there are also limitations: in my example using "like" would definitely create ambiguity and might lead to misunderstanding"

 

[Rachel Adams]

There are two exceptions.

So he is talking about exeptions when ''would'' can also be used. ''He would often feel lonely.'' Is an example for the first exception and for the second exception I wrote the following examples. ''When I was young I would often smoke.'' ''I would read every day as a kid.'' I hope they are correct.