Success or succeed?
"I tried learning to do embroidery but I didn't _____________"
I thought that a correct sentence was:
I didn't have success
But, when I checked the answer and the correct answer would be: I didn't succeed. Why is the reason?
Can I say "I hadn't succeed?
Thanks! 
4 Answers
I have been thinking about making a post about just this kind of question. We cannot translate things as we would like , In so many situations the literal simply cannot work or has no meaning .
"I tried learning to do embroidery but I didn't succeed, (simple past)
"I didn't have success" in English is OK but not smooth. " I was not succesful is much better.
Can I say "I hadn't succeed? no you cannot, "I hadn´t succeeded". is better but "I had no success" is still better here.
In that phrase you are in a past tense mode, the proper name of which I have no idea.
I have worked and lived in many countries, for this reason I will also suggest to you to avoid " contractions " don´t hadn´t haven´t unless you are with native English speakers, and have that level of mastery , you can live your entire life without the need for a contraction. I avoid using contractions when I am with non native English speakers
"I didn't have success" in English is OK but not smooth.
To me it sounds OK, as well, but if this particular type of construction were used it would probably sound more natural to hear something like:
I tried _______, but I didn't have any success.
—or probably better—
I tried (my hand at) ________, but didn't have any luck (at it)
Bear in mind that I live in Southeast Texas, and what sounds "more natural" to me might not to another English speaker living in another part of the world.
Can I say "I hadn't succeed?
No. If the verb "had" is used as the main verb then it would need to be followed by a noun (similar to the verb "tener" in Spanish). Therefore, you could say something like I had no success (No tuve éxito) or I had no luck.
On the other hand, if the verb "had" is used as an auxiliary verb then it should be followed by a verb in the past participle (the same as is true in Spanish when the verb "haber" is used as an auxiliary verb to form the perfect tenses). In this case, the past participle of "succeed" is "succeeded." Even so, the sentence "I hadn't succeeded would not fit here because the tense is wrong. It would be similar to saying something like "Traté de hacer algo pero no había logrado hacerlo" (Hopefully, the example in Spanish, sufficiently illustrates the awkwardness of using this particular tense in this situation).
Another option (as others have already suggested) would be to use the simple past of the verb "succeed." This would amount to "I tried to do something, but (I) didn't succeed. or Traté de hacer algo pero no logré hacerlo.
One thing that I would like to reiterate is that there is probably no need to get too bogged down by formulaic expressions such as the one suggested in the exercise above. Both Spanish and English are very rich languages, and there are probably at least a handful of expressions which would adequately convey this idea (in both Spanish and English). I have already noted a couple these, but here are a few more that might be of interest to you:
?I tried learning to do embroidery but I never got the hang of it.
?I tried learning to do embroidery but I didn't (quite) get the hang of it.
?I tried learning to do embroidery but I didn't have any luck with it.
?I tried learning to do embroidery but I never did get the hang of it.
?I tried learning to do embroidery but I didn't do so well.
?I tried learning to do embroidery but it didn't (really) stick/take.
?I tried learning to do embroidery but it didn't really work out.
?I tried learning to do embroidery but I wasn't successful (at it)
?I tried learning to do embroidery but I didn't quite make the grade.
?I tried learning to do embroidery but it was a complete debacle/I failed miserably at it
?I tried learning to do embroidery but I was completely hopeless at it/I was a hopeless case.
(These last two probably place a bit more emphasis on the person's inability to accomplish this goal — i.e. it places added emphasis on the fact that the person failed to meet his own expectations.)
You can say '' I didn't succeed'' simple past tense
or ''I haven't succeeded (yet)'' present perfect tense.
I didnt succeed.... succeed is a verb. Success is a noun.
He had success in everything he did He succeeded at everything he did
both would be correct, but the first one would be wordy...not natural sounding. Look up the words in the dictionary. That might help you.
And no,you should not say "I hadn't succeed" because succeed is a verb. I had no success would be correct, OR "I didn't succeed" would be correct
