Having the following sentences:
He wouldn't like us to be stuck at home.
He didn't use to like us being stuck at home.
Which one is correct? Can I use both?
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1They mean completely different things -- I hope you realize. – aparente001 Aug 13 '15 at 01:36
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No, I don't. Can you provide details please? – Schwale Aug 13 '15 at 01:37
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The didn’t use to construction can be followed up with an implied ‘But now he does.” – Jim Aug 13 '15 at 02:55
2 Answers
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They are both grammatically correct, it all depends what you are trying to say.
The first has a sense of something happening in the present or future.
Present: It's a pity the weather's so bad, Dad wouldn't like us to be stuck at home with nothing to do. (ie Dad wouldn't like to think we were stuck in the house because of bad weather)
Future: If we move to the country we should get a car, Dad wouldn't like us to be stuck at home without any transport.
The second is firmly in the past:
When we were young and the family couldn't afford a car, Dad didn't use to like us being stuck at home.
Mynamite
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He wouldn't like us to be stuck at home.
There's an implied "if" here, for example: If he were here (OR if he knew what's going on), he wouldn't like to see us unable to go out and do things.
He didn't use to like us being stuck at home.
Better (see What's the negation of "I used to be"? Surely not "I didn't used to be"?):
He used to dislike seeing us stuck at home.
This sentence describes how he felt (in the past).
aparente001
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