Read a book vs. was reading a book

Question

Hello, I would like to ask which of the following sentences are correct. When I was a child I read a book everyday or When I was a child I was reading a book every day if I want to express that I did not read the whole book but I did some reading. And it is correct to say When I was a child I often read a book or I was often reading a book if I again want to express that I did some reading.
Thank you for your answers

Sam1947 · Accepted Answer

You would not say the 2nd alternative.

To express that you read every day but did not read an entire book everyday, you could say, "When I was a child I read from a book everyday." or, "When I was a child I read part of a book every day." or, "When I was a child I read a few (or many, or whatever) pages of a book everyday."

Since there is no time frame for the next set of questions, you could say just, "When I was a child, I often read books." or, "When I was a child, I often spent time reading books."

Rinoceronte · Answer

sam1947"When I was a child, I often read books."

It doesn't say if you completed either of books. It may mean you didn't complete a single book in your childhood. Compare: "When I was a child, I often read encyclopaedias".

Obviously, Anon comes from an aspectful language and seeks for an instrument to distinguish imperfect aspect from perfect one. Simple tenses don't give you this possibility, hence the closest thing to grasp and to use as such distinguisher is a continuous tense: "I was reading...".

Dimsumexpress · Answer

rinoceronte
sam1947"When I was a child, I often read books."
It doesn't say if you completed either of books. It may mean you didn't complete a single book in your childhood. Compare: "When I was a child, I often read encyclopaedias".Obviously, Anon comes from an aspectful language and seeks for an instrument to distinguish imperfect aspect from perfect one. Simple tenses don't give you this possibility, hence the closest thing to grasp and to use as such distinguisher is a continuous tense: "I was reading...".

No, I believe you need to refresh your tense use. Sam is correct. "When I was a child, I often read books." Progressive sounds wrong. In this sentence, "often read" indicates that the act of reading was habitual and the reading of books may or may not be completed, but each time the reading was a finished act until you picked up the book again. Here, simple past is the proper tense. However, if the context and time adverb were changed from "often", to "always", it's possible to use past continuous progressive: I was always reading something when I was a child. Just my passing two cents.

Sam1947 · Answer

When I was a child I was reading books every day is not a natural thing to say in English, and it also does not indicate that I never finished one.

If I wanted to express that I read books every day, but knew that I had never finished one, I would say, "When I was a child, I spent time reading from books every day." or just, "When I was a child, I spent time reading every day."

There is no indication in either sentence that I ever finished a book, and both sound natural to a native speaker. or, how about, "Reading everyday was a big part of my childhood." or, "Reading everyday was a major feature (or important feature) of my childhood."

Rinoceronte · Answer

sam1947When I was a child I was reading books every day is not a natural thing to say in English, and it also does not indicate that I never finished one.

If I wanted to express that I read books every day, but knew that I had never finished one, I would say, "When I was a child, I spent time reading from books every day." or just, "When I was a child, I spent time reading every day."

There is no indication in either sentence that I ever finished a book, and both sound natural to a native speaker. or, how about, "Reading everyday was a big part of my childhood." or, "Reading everyday was a major feature (or important feature) of my childhood."

I'm not saying, it's a natural thing. I'm saying that the guy needs to distinguish perfect and imperfect aspects (event and process), which can't be done if you use an indefinite tense. Yes, you can express it like you did, but "read" is a particular verb, while non-English (or, more exactly, non-Germanic) mind seeks systematicity here.

BarbaraPA · Answer

The original poster asked asked a simple question.

We serve no need here by answering with things that no one would ever say.

Sam has given several good options.

I am locking the thread to prevent further wandering into the depths of linguistics, which belong in a different section of this forum.

Read a book vs. was reading a book

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