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Wangqh2696122 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

The car didn't start. or: The car wouldn't start.

The car didn't start.

The car wouldn't start.

  

Top answer

I see very little difference between the two sentences. They're both ok. That said, I'd be more likely to use the second if I made every effort to start the car but it still won't start.

— Ivanhr

  • I see very little difference between the two sentences.
  • They're both ok.
  • That said, I'd be more likely to use the second if I made every effort to start the car but it still won't start.
  • In this sense, "wouldn't start" means "refused to start" and is more evident when used with people than with inanimate objects.
  • She wouldn't give me any money.
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9 Answers
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I see very little difference between the two sentences. They're both ok.

That said, I'd be more likely to use the second if I made every effort to start the car but it still won't start.

In this sense, "wouldn't start" means "refused to start" and is more evident when used with people than with inanimate objects.

She wouldn't give me any money. (= she refused to give m
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wangqh2696122The car didn't start.
The car wouldn't start.
Just my passing two cents....

Even though we hear people say this a lot, they are actually logically incorrect.

Technically, no matter how much current technology is built in, a car can't start on its own without any human activation, meaning either to get the engine started by th
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dimsumexpress
wangqh2696122The car didn't start.The car wouldn't start.
Just my passing two cents..Even though we hear people say this a lot, they are actually logically incorrect.Technically, no matter how much current technology is built in, a car can't start on its own without any human activation, meaning either to get the engine st
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Hi,

Logic is logic, and language is language.

If your point is that a car is an inanimate object, how can you logically say 'My car is dead'?
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Hey, Clive -- I guess great minds think alike ... and so do ours! Emotion: wink
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Thanks guys for the responding comments.

I know this view is not a popular one and I'd draw fire. My comment was "technically..." and I wasn't arguing about the grammatical aspect, and I reckoned people say that a lot. Perhaps this logic came from working years in the engineering profession. In my opinion, all man-made creations are inaminate. By design, human give them life. Is this log
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wangqh2696122The car didn't start.
The car failed to start when (someone) tried to start it. (This is a very matter-of-fact, neutral statement.)
wangqh2696122The car wouldn't start.
The car failed again and again to start when (someone) tried again and again to start it. The car "refused" to start. The car was "stubborn"
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Hi,



Actually, I've rarely or never heard anyone say 'My car is dead'.



What I do hear a lot is 'My battery is dead'. Perhaps because we equate electrical energy more closely with the idea of 'alive'. That's why we say eg 'Don't touch that wire, it's live!'
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I think this may be something someone would say after his house is flooded by the storm: My phone, cable, computer, and my car are all dead!
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