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Viceidol Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
Can "used to" be used with a past time?
0 Hi, I saw a line of words explaining the usage of "used to" in my grammer book which says: 02 br
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00 .... 01 i 00 Used to 02 i 00 is not used simply to say what happened at 01 b 00 a past time 02 b 00 . 02 br
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00 I worked very hard 01 u 00 last month 02 u 00 . (O) 02 br
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00 I 01 b 00 used to 02 b 00 work very hard 01 u 00 last month 02 u 00 . (X) 02 br
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00 And that is what the book says. However, I saw another sentence which does use "used to" with a past time: 02 br
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00 He 01 b 00 used to 02 b 00 live here 01 u 00 in 1944 02 u 00 . 02 br
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00 If the above example is correct, then why is "I 01 b 00 used to 02 b 00 work very hard 01 u 00 last month 02 u 00 ." incorrect? What is exactly the difference of these two examples? 02 br
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00 Please give me your opinion and I'd appreciate it. 0-
02 br
00 .... 01 i 00 Used to 02 i 00 is not used simply to say what happened at 01 b 00 a past time 02 b 00 . 02 br
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00 I worked very hard 01 u 00 last month 02 u 00 . (O) 02 br
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00 I 01 b 00 used to 02 b 00 work very hard 01 u 00 last month 02 u 00 . (X) 02 br
02 br
00 And that is what the book says. However, I saw another sentence which does use "used to" with a past time: 02 br
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00 He 01 b 00 used to 02 b 00 live here 01 u 00 in 1944 02 u 00 . 02 br
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00 If the above example is correct, then why is "I 01 b 00 used to 02 b 00 work very hard 01 u 00 last month 02 u 00 ." incorrect? What is exactly the difference of these two examples? 02 br
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00 Please give me your opinion and I'd appreciate it. 0-
Top answer
0 'Used to' is used to refer to regular or habitual past activiites or states. I'd say that the main problem is that limiting 'work hard' to 'last month' suggests that 'work hard' was 01 b 00 not 02 b 00 a habitual or regular past activity. 0-
- 0 'Used to' is used to refer to regular or habitual past activiites or states.
- I'd say that the main problem is that limiting 'work hard' to 'last month' suggests that 'work hard' was 01 b 00 not 02 b 00 a habitual or regular past activity.
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6 Answers
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0 'Used to' is used to refer to regular or habitual past activiites or states. I'd say that the main problem is that limiting 'work hard' to 'last month' suggests that 'work hard' was 01 b 00 not 02 b 00 a habitual or regular past activity. 0-
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0 Yeah, I think a month is too short a period of time, and it's fixed. I think 01 i 01 b 00 used to 02 b 02 i 00 is used when the time frame doesn't sound too fixed or determined. 02 br
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00 I used to live there from 1998 to 2002. <-- Doesn't sound ok to me. Is it just me? 02 br
00 I used to live there in 1998. 02 b 00
01 b 02 br
00 I used to live there from 1998 to 2002. <-- Doesn't sound ok to me. Is it just me? 02 br
00 I used to live there in 1998. 02 b 00
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0 01 blockquote
01 cite 10 Kooyeen 12 cite 10 I used to live there from 1998 to 2002. 12 blockquote10 That 01 u 00 might 02 u 00 be used since the period of time is substantial -- especially if the time frame is added as an afterthought. 00 0-
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01 cite 10 Yankee 12 cite 10 especially if the time frame is added as an afterthought. 12 blockquote10 Hmm, but that underlined 01 i 00 might 02 i 00 , and the part I just quoted tell me that that example might be borderline acceptable, and that my intuition was not that wrong after all. Right Amy? 05 0 02 br
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0 Hi Kooyeen 02 br
00 Yes, I think your intuition was good. 02 br
00 One of the reasons I didn't like the use of 'used to' with 'last month' is that the time frame sounds much too limited to be considered habitual. It also sounds as though it was only one month out of many months (i.e. it sounds more like an exception than the rule). 02 br
00 When people use 'used to
00 Yes, I think your intuition was good. 02 br
00 One of the reasons I didn't like the use of 'used to' with 'last month' is that the time frame sounds much too limited to be considered habitual. It also sounds as though it was only one month out of many months (i.e. it sounds more like an exception than the rule). 02 br
00 When people use 'used to
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0 Thank you! I understand now. What Amy said is very helpful, because all my grammar books weren't able to explain this as clearly as Amy. 0-
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