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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

It did "used" or "use"

0My friend and I got into a disagreement about this... 02br
00"It did 01u00use02u00 to be Wizard of Oz themed" or "It did 01u00used02u00 to be Wizard of Oz themed"?02br
00Bonus points if you can figure out what "it" is... 02br
00 Or are both of them wrong? 0-
  

Top answer

0 Normal: it used to be the theme. 02br 00My only guess would be "Over the Rainbow", and that's too obvious to be correct. 0-

— Philip

  • 0 Normal: it used to be the theme.
  • 02br 00My only guess would be "Over the Rainbow", and that's too obvious to be correct.
  • 0-
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7 Answers
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0 Normal: it used to be the theme. If you are in a debate and want to emphasize: it did use to be the theme.02br
00My only guess would be "Over the Rainbow", and that's too obvious to be correct. 0-
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0Whenever there's a 01i00did02i00 (or 01i00didn't02i00) in the same clause, drop the 01b00d02b00 of 01i00used02i00. The pronunciation remains the same, since the 01b00d02b00 in the idiom 01i00used to02i00 is silent anyway.02br
02br
01i
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What did you mean, when you wrote "(not in the same clause)"?
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AnonymousWhat did you mean, when you wrote "(not in the same clause)"?

I meant that the didn't and the used to idiom were in different clauses. Therefore the used to doesn't change to use to.
CJ
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Anonymous Or are both of them wrong?

Many dictionaries* consider both of them right. The underlying idea is that even though used with its ed ending looks like an ordinary past tense verb, usage has not settled and two forms are acceptable with the auxiliary do:

He didn't use/used to be rich.

And, since i
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use is correct because according to english grammar, Did + V1 is used.
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See CB's answer from 27bNovember 2008.
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