it has never worked

USAGE SUMMARY

The part of the sentence "it has never worked" is grammatically correct and can be used in written English.
You can use it to express a negative past experience. For example: "I've tried to fix the broken printer numerous times, but it has never worked."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Academia

Tech

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

49 human-written examples

Israel has been using the demolition of "terror" suspects' homes as a deterrent for decades, and, like many of its other ideas, it has never worked, and there is no reason to believe it will.

Independent

Obamacare has never been hugely popular, and it has never worked as well as its architects hoped.

Huffington Post

Unfortunately, it has never worked that way.

The New York Times

It has never worked one out.

Harvard University

For me, however, it has never worked that way.

The New York Times

The only problem, Lussier says, is that it has never worked.

Yale University

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

11 human-written examples

(The agency told me that, to its knowledge, it had never worked on a case like Bourdin's before).

The New Yorker

"Pushing it as far as I could go," he said, adding: "I had tried to kill myself a few times, but it had never worked.

The New York Times - Sports

It was enormously complicated to develop, made all the more difficult because the engineers who were building it had never worked on a campaign and did not instinctively understand the work of field organizers.

The Washington Post

Even as sales continue on the Manhattan condo makeover at 18 Gramercy Park — which has brought Mr. Stern together again with the developers of 15 Central Park West — Stern Architects is working in a handful of countries it had never worked in before, including India and Singapore.

The New York Times

However, Apple said it had "never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services".

BBC

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "it has never worked", ensure the context clearly identifies what "it" refers to, avoiding ambiguity.

Common error

Avoid using "it has never worked" when evidence suggests even isolated instances of success. Qualify the statement or provide concrete evidence.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "it has never worked" functions as a declarative statement, expressing a negative assessment based on past experience. It asserts the consistent ineffectiveness of something, as confirmed by Ludwig's examples.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

75%

Academia

15%

Wiki

5%

Less common in

Formal & Business

3%

Science

1%

Reference

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "it has never worked" is a common and grammatically sound way to express consistent ineffectiveness. Ludwig's analysis reveals its frequent use in news and media, conveying disappointment or caution. While versatile, it's crucial to ensure the context clearly defines "it" to avoid ambiguity and prevent overgeneralization. Ludwig AI validates its grammatical correctness, highlighting its utility in expressing negative past experiences. Alternatives like "it has consistently failed" can offer nuanced emphasis.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

it has consistently failed

Focuses on the repeated failure of something.

it has always been unsuccessful

Emphasizes the continuous lack of success.

it has proven ineffective

Highlights the lack of effectiveness based on evidence.

it has not been effective

States a general lack of effectiveness.

it has failed to produce results

Focuses on the absence of desired outcomes.

it has not yielded success

Emphasizes the absence of successful results.

it has been a constant disappointment

Highlights the disappointing nature of something's repeated failure.

it remains ineffective

Indicates that something continues to be ineffective.

it has perpetually flopped

Uses stronger wording to convey repeated failure.

it has historically been unsuccessful

Emphasizes a pattern of historical lack of success.

FAQs

How can I rephrase "it has never worked"?

You can use alternatives like "it has consistently failed", "it has always been unsuccessful", or "it has proven ineffective" depending on the context.

Is "it has never worked" grammatically correct?

Yes, "it has never worked" is grammatically correct and widely used to express that something has not been successful at any point in the past.

What's the difference between "it has never worked" and "it didn't work"?

"It has never worked" implies a consistent history of failure, while "it didn't work" refers to a specific instance of failure.

When is it appropriate to use the phrase "it has never worked"?

Use "it has never worked" when referring to something that has consistently failed to produce the desired result across multiple attempts or situations.