did used to

Searching Google for such items is not that useful. If you want to try a more precise, native speaker source, try one of these corpora:

http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/
http://corpus.byu.edu/time/

Begin searching for terms in this way:

did * use to

In the BNC, this brings:


DID N'T USE TO 17

DID YOU USE TO 6

DID SHE USE TO 3

DID THEY USE TO 3

DID WE USE TO 2

DID THAT USE TO 1

You then click on one of those returns, e.g. did n't use to, and you get this:

1 AR2 and I found it hard to talk about. We didn't use to talk about him like we did the others.) When
2 B24 was how I used to treat them. I didn't use to curse or swear at them. They used to do that
3 FXX did you discuss it with him at all? He didn't use to like ti, never, he was always terrified at what
4 FY5 soup and er a hunk of bread. They didn't use to cut it in slices they used to break you a piece
5 FY5 er I think I'm not sure whether or didn't use to use it as well. There was quite a few schools used
6 FY5 Oh we used to shake our hands, we didn't use to go home complaining. We didn't report them to the
7 FY5 was none of this sort of vandalism, we didn't use to destroy anything. Erm if we broke a window it was
8 G09 's at Mrs Bell's parties --; Mr Bell didn't use to go. Mrs Bell and Duncan Grant, they shared a
9 JY4 now." Ruth was surprised. "You didn't use to. I always had the impression you were a workaholic.
10 K1K by the big race. John Upson says he didn't use to care too much for the National, because it was cruel
11 KBW , a lot of things come in that we didn't use to have Mm, oh, sort of international things at the I
12 KC2 younger, neither of them Me? No you didn't use to eat chips when you were younger When you were younger you
13 KC9 . more often than he was, but it didn't use to be like this. The first time we had a break
14 KD8 , when I really really understood. Well Nicola didn't use to have hayfever when she was at. No, she got
15 KGW backgrounds for evidence of child sex abuse. People didn't use to do that twenty thirty forty years ago so erm child sex
16 KP2 larger yeah I remember when they use, they didn't use to be a medium small and large yeah and the large one
17 KST . Post Office are very good! Well they didn't use to be Oh! on cards. Oh! I thought you

From that you can check which ones relate to "used to" (past habit/state) and compare with your next search of:

did * used to

Have fun!

Time Magazine. http://corpus.byu.edu/time/

Search: did * use to

Result for <did n't use to> 3 (1 in the 1950's and 2 in the 1990's.)

Here they are:

1 1957-04-08 out there are so many economy-minded people in Washington. They didn't use to be here. " He followed up with the hardest
2 1990-12-03 , " especially among white males vying for jobs they didn't use to have to compete for. " Page 1 of 2
3 1991-06-17 As Bush told an aide last week, " I didn't use to do that kind of stuff. " Uncomfortable indulging in

---

did * used to

did n't used to - 6 (See below for dates.)

1 1968-01-26 need to discipline children and hold families together. " There didn't used to be the cynicism there is today, " sighed Romney
2 1970-01-12 scene. The voiceover announces: " Being a Christian didn't used to be a spectator sportit still isn't. " The
3 1971-10-11 half than in all my years before. It just didn't used to happen. " In the meantime, the guards are
4 1999-03-15 She even stayed home last Saturday night, which she didn't used to do during school exams, " says Zach, who
5 1999-12-27 any better, Matt Damon feels your pain. He didn't used to be him either. " There are times I've
6 2006-01-16 inner voice and trust instincts and hunches in ways I didn't used to. " And, says Strozier, they're both

Did Kef lose interest?

We use "used to do" to talk about the past. It is **not a tense** but it is like a tense. It is a **special expression**. We use the expression used to do for the past only.

Used or use?
when there is did in the sentence, we say use to (without d)
when there is no did in the sentence, we say used to (with d)

Structure of Used to do:
+ sentence: I used to do.
- sentence: I did not use to do.
Question: Did you use to do?


Look at these examples:

##the past and the present :
She used to work in a shop. Now she works in a bank.
He used to watch a lot of TV. Now he doesn't watch much TV.
They used to be married. Now they are divorced.
There used to be a cinema here. Now there is a supermarket here.
I didn't use to go swimming. Now I go swimming.
Did you use to smoke?

<< Did Kef lose interest? >>

Eh, more or less. I'm not convinced that the BNC and similar sources are representative of less formal writing.

GrAmMarIaN - Yeah, I know that stuff already... that doesn't really make an argument one way or the other, though. You say "this is how it should be said" without saying why.

- Kef

<Eh, more or less. I'm not convinced that the BNC and similar sources are representative of less formal writing. >

Then you don't know the story behind the BNC. And why should formal writing be a problem in the decision to use "did use to" or not?

For questions and negative forms, two forms of the verb are used - either the normal infinitive pattern after did (more common), or the past form used (less common):

When you were a kid, did you use to think the sun revolved around the earth?


When you were a kid, did you used to think the sun revolved around the earth?


I didn't use to take such a large dress size, but now I do.


I didn't used to take such a large dress size, but now I do.

....

Question still remains: why is the -ed form less common?

Kef:<<You say "this is how it should be said" without saying why.>>

Eyeknow:<<Question still remains: why is the -ed form less common? >>


Answer:

when there is did in the sentence, we say use to (without d)
when there is no did in the sentence, we say used to (with d)

It's grammar rule. Period.

<< It's grammar rule. Period. >>

So is the rule not to split an infinitive, or to end a sentence with a preposition, both of which I think are utter nonsense.

- Kef

I used to pronounce "use to" (infinitive) and "used to" (past tense) the same way, but nowadays I tend to be insert both [t] sounds in "used to" [just tu]. "used to" should be pronounced with both [t] sounds, the other way is just sloppy.

The majority of native speakers pronounce both the same.

'So is the rule not to split an infinitive, or to end a sentence with a preposition, both of which I think are utter nonsense.'


These 'rules' were inventions by idiot grammarians who thought Latin was the perfect language and therefore had to be imitated and since Latin doesn't split infinitives or end sentences with prepositions...... The 'rules' never had any historical precedence in English, unlike the rule that says a conjugated verb cannot go after another conjugated verb in the same clause. This rule exists not only in English but in many other languages.


If a verb is put after another verb in the same clause, there are rules as to what form or forms the following verb takes. It cannot under any circumstances be conjugated (ie in simple present tense or simple past tense) in standard English. There are some verbs that can be followed by more than one form, sometimes with little or no change in meaning: 'like to be' - 'like being', sometimes with a change in meaning: 'have been' - 'have to be' - 'have someone be'. There are also verbs that can only be followed by one form of the verb: 'will be', 'enjoy being'. 'do' is one of these verbs. It can only be followed by the infinitive without to in standard English. If this 'infinitive without to' only rule for the verb 'do' ever changed, 'used' as in 'did used to' would be a past participle not simple past tense because of the rule about not putting a conjugated verb after another conjugated verb.

David

<<The majority of native speakers pronounce both the same.>>

Yeah, and it's sloppy.

<<So is the rule not to split an infinitive, or to end a sentence with a preposition, both of which I think are utter nonsense.>>

Those are just nonsense that people say when they are confusing English with Latin.

<< The 'rules' never had any historical precedence in English, unlike the rule that says a conjugated verb cannot go after another conjugated verb in the same clause. This rule exists not only in English but in many other languages. >>

What about the apparent that "do" can never be followed by an auxiliary verb, where this sense of "use" is the only exception I can think of? As I said before, either way, it's an exceptional case. It would be reasonable to argue that "use" is more historically sound, but my point was and is that "used" may not be as utterly nonsensical as it may seem at first.

<<<< The majority of native speakers pronounce both the same. >>>>

<< Yeah, and it's sloppy. >>

I suppose Modern English is extremely sloppy compared to Old English? ;) It seems that pronunciation changes are always perceived as sloppy when they're noticeable, even though such changes have been happening for millennia and will continue to do so.

- Kef