tense of old customs

Question

What kind of tense (or something else) should be used when I would like to talk about old folk customs (or rites), which don’t exist today. I mean I begin with something like this: “Once in France, (the?) people went to a river, threw stones in it. Then they cut a tree, etc.” Is it clear that it was not one happening, but they do so regularly, for e.g. annually. Or should I say, “people used to go to a river, used to throw stones in it, then they used to...” I think I shouldn’t but I don’t know if it is true that “would” is used in such cases. I mean “Once in France, people would go to a river, would throw stones in it. Then they would cut a tree, etc.” If not, than at the first act I should “used to” and in the further part nothing else?

Philip · Accepted Answer

If in doubt, use 'used to' at least at the beginning of the narrative. Many people use 'would' to describe actions that occurred regularly (instead of 'used to'). I don't recommend that students do this.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

KaaJee“people used to go to a river, used to throw stones in it, then they used to...”

I don't understand the part about going to France. Is that part of the sequence of events? Here is a natural sequence of tenses in such a narrative:

Once a year, people used to travel to France. When they arrived, they would go to a river, throw stones in it, and then cut the trees that grew by the shore. ...

KaaJee · Answer

No, I'm talking about French people. They don't go anywhere, I mean I'm talking about a (fictive) French folk custom in France, or I could talk about an Egyptian custom of the ancient Egypt, or a Papua New Guinean custom once done by the aboriginals, etc.

KaaJee · Answer

Thank you! Do you think that if I've talked about, say, a midsummer folk custom of some nation in a paragraph, and about another similar one of another nation in another paragraph, and then I want to mention a third custom used to done in a third country, I don't need to use "used to" at all. Nor anything else. I can simply begin the paragraph saying "In Ireland, people climbed a tree, and did this and did that, etc. It sounds as if it happened only once, but one should understand logically that it is a "used to" thing. So do you think it is so?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

KaaJeeSo do you think it is so?

If you are describing ancient traditions, and are clear about stating that in your introduction, you can use the simple past. But "would" has the meaning of habitual actions in the past, so it is very useful in describing customs.
eg

In Ireland, people would plant potatoes by the light of the spring moon. They believed it was healthy to eat root vegetables when the moon was dark, and to eat leafy vegetables when the moon was overhead.

KaaJee · Answer

OK, Philip doesn't back the usage of would in such a case, while you do. So now I haven't decided yet, but suppose I would use the would. But I don't know how. I mean that their believing what you've told us wasn't an act, although interesting, so don't you get angry.

So their planting was the only act. Philip mentionedwould as an alternative of used to. So if I'm not mistaken, if the narrative is about a sequence of acts, first I can use used to or would, or I can say "once it was the custom that," then in the further narrative I shouldn't use would, nor any additional word in the simple past tense. And I suppose that after talking about different customs worldwide, in a further paragraph I don't need would even in its beginning, even if I accept that in other cases it's usage is useful -- and thank you for telling me this.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

KaaJeeOK, Philip doesn't back the usage of would in such a case, while you do.

I'll let Philip respond, but I think he meant that there are many different uses of "would" and students may get confused by this particular usage (habitual action in the past.)

Once you write your story, why don't you post a couple of sentences, and we can comment on how you have used the verb tenses?

Philip · Answer

AlpheccaStarsKaaJeeOK, Philip doesn't back the usage of would in such a case, while you do.

I'll let Philip respond, but I think he meant that there are many different uses of "would" and students may get confused by this particular usage (habitual action in the past.)

Exactly!

KaaJee · Answer

AlpheccaStars: why don't you post a couple of sentences, and we can comment on how you have used the verb tenses?

Thank you for offering this, but I think a bigger part would generate further problems. But the point when I decided to put this question was that I want to write approximately the following sentence: “The piercing of the tongue was a part of their ceremonies, too.” Here,“too” is meant to mean that it happened so not only in the story previously dealt, but it was a part of a real custom. So, this sentence isn’t similar to what we’ve talked about. It is so because that is how I evade the problem of habitual action in the past many times, but now I failed to do even this, because piercing seems to be an object, not only the act that I think about. But maybe I think so only because the word “piercing” is adopted to Hungarian (my language) only with this meaning. But I think it must be clear that an object can’t be a part of a ceremony, but an act can. However, I was thinking about this and I thought that I can’t always evade this problem. So maybe I would write something like this: The members of the tribe pierced (would pierce?) their tongue also in one of their ceremonies. Then they collected (would collect?) the blood, and when it has clot, they used (would use?) it as an adhesive with which they stuck (would stick?) feathers to their bodies.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

eg. This is fine, and denotes (by context) a habitual activity.

The ancient Magyars had many ceremonies, and archaeological evidence shows that the piercing of the tongue was a part of their male initiation rites. Elder tribal members boiled the bark of the willow tree, making a kind of pain killer. The boys drank the potion, and went into a trance as their tongues were pierced. The blood from the tongue was collected in ritual bowls, and used to make a sticky concoction for gluing feathers to the boys' bodies.

tense of old customs

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