Meaning of "used to would" double modal?

[Herb Stahlke]

So here's the volitional interpretation.  I hadn't gotten to this email yet.

Herb

On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 12:15 PM, Patty <patty at cruzio.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Patty <patty at CRUZIO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Meaning of "used to would" double modal?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Hi Ron - I like this interpretation - of course I have been thinking about
> these constructions since yesterday.  I thought of other similar sentences
> myself, for example:
>
> "I used to would tell" could have the underlying representations:
>
> I used to would (want to) tell
>
> I used to would (like to) tell
>
>
> Thus the original construction may not have been a habitual event at all,
> maybe the southern performer never told anything, it was all in his head.
>
> I am having fun with this topic :)
>
> Regards,
>
> Patty
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <RonButters at AOL.COM>
> To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Sent: Friday, November 13, 2009 8:34 AM
> Subject: [ADS-L] Meaning of "used to would" double modal?
>
>
> I sense a difference between
>
> I used to think that the moon was made of green cheese. (= It was formerly
> my belief that ...)
> AND
> I used to would think that the moon was made of green cheese. (= From time
> to time the thought crossed my mind that ...)
>
> The unmarked interpretation of the former is continuous.
> The unmarked interpretation of the latter is iterative.
>
> I used to would = It used to be (the case) that I would
> I used to = It used to be (the case) that I
>
> cf.
>
> I used to could = It used to be (the case) that I could
>
> In a message dated 11/12/09 3:35:48 PM, thnidu at GMAIL.COM writes:
>
>
>> But "used to" already expresses not just past tense, but habitual past.
>> What
>> does "would" add to that? Does it emphasizes the habituality, as Charles
>> suggests, or is it semantically redundant?
>>
>> Compare
>> 1. lies I used to would tell
>> 2. lies I used to tell
>> 3. lies I would tell
>> 4. lies I told
>>
>> 2, 3, and 4 are all in my dialect and pretty broadly in US usage. For me,
>> 2
>> and 3 are synonymous or pret'near so,* referring to habitual lying in the
>> past. In contrast, 4 can refer to any past lying, habitual or not,
>> including
>> a single occasion ("lies I told last night").
>>
>> * leaving aside the conditional use of 3
>>
>> m a m
>>
>> On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 3:13 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>>
>> > At 11/12/2009 02:30 PM, Charles Doyle wrote:
>> > >Speaking from my own "Southern" intuitions:
>> > >
>> > >The modal "would" here simply adds--or emphasizes--a sense of
>> habituality.
>> >
>> > Speaking from my own "Northern" attempts to understand English spoken
>> > by others, I have the same sense. The "would" tells me that the
>> > speaker, talking about the past ("used to"), in that past more than
>> > once did the thing in question ("would" lie, hate).
>> >
>> > Joel
>> >
>> >
>> > >--Charlie
>> > >_____________________________
>> > >
>> > >---- Original message ----
>> > > >Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:24:21 -0500
>> > > >From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> (on behalf
>> > > of Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>)
>> > > >
>> > > >A friend encountered some examples of the "used to would" double
>> > > modal in a song by a southern performer. I explained the general
>> > > idea, but he pointed out that in the examples in the song--things
>> > > like "lies I used to would tell" or "people I used to would
>> > > hate"--the "would" seemed redundant, and he asked if the double
>> > > modal was emphatic, or random, or what.
>> > > >
>> > > >I don't actually know, and figured I'd ask here rather than trying
>> > > to make something up based on the few resources for this that I have
>> > handy.
>> > > >
>> > > >Thanks for any input.
>> > > >
>> > > >Jesse Sheidlower
>> > > >OED
>> >
>> >
>>
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