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Stephenlearner Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

I try to open the door, but it won't open.

Hi,

Can you say the door doesn't open?
Is this a general rule?

Thank you.
  

Top answer

I suppose you can—the phrase itself is innocent—but you have supplied no context or related your thread title to your post content. Please supply all relevant context within the body of your message.

  • I suppose you can—the phrase itself is innocent—but you have supplied no context or related your thread title to your post content.
  • Please supply all relevant context within the body of your message.
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5 Answers
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I suppose you can—the phrase itself is innocent—but you have supplied no context or related your thread title to your post content. Please supply all relevant context within the body of your message.
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Hi,

Thank you for your reply.

I have seen many examples that use won't instead of doesn't.

If I try to open the car door, and find unexpectedly that it cannot be opened, should I tell somebody "the door won't open"?
If I attempt to open the car door many times, and fail to open it every time, should I tell somebody "the door doesn't open"?
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Hi,
Can I say the door cannot open?
Maybe not, I think.
Because the subject of can should be humans.
Men can or cannot do something.
If using the can, is the correct way the door cannot be opened?

Many thanks.
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stephenlearnerCan I say the door cannot open?
No. The most usual choices are these:

The door won't open.
The door doesn't open.
The door isn't opening.
The door can't be opened.

Analogously in the past:

The door wouldn't open.
The door didn't open.
The door wasn't opening.
The door couldn't be opened.

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