Who can explain me this example
... I had been asking my parents for a real pen for a long time, but they REFUSED (why not WOULD REFUSE or USED TO REFUSE), foreseeing the mess that I was almost bound to make with the ink...
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Answers · 2
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"Who can explain this example to me?" The word-order "...explain me..." makes "me" the direct object. Be careful with this one; you do need to use "to me" here.
"They refused" means any time the writer asked. "Would refuse" is also possible. "Used to refuse" means they give you a real pen when you ask now, but in this case it means only one pen, not a new pen every time.
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"Would refuse" could be used in this case, indicating that they refused more than once. "Used to refuse" would imply that they refused before, but don't currently.
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