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Kiattisak Thepsuriya Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
'used to' for certain state of someone in the past
One question came to my mind and I was not able to find an answer from any authoritative sources (books and websites) at all. I was wondering if the following use of 'used to' is grammatically correct or if it sounds weird:
Queen Elizabeth I used to be a queen of England.
This is not a single event in the past, so the use may be legitimate. But there is no present state to compare with the statement either (cf. 'I used to eat a lot but now I'm more careful with my diet'), which may discourage the use.
What's your view on this?
Queen Elizabeth I used to be a queen of England.
This is not a single event in the past, so the use may be legitimate. But there is no present state to compare with the statement either (cf. 'I used to eat a lot but now I'm more careful with my diet'), which may discourage the use.
What's your view on this?
Top answer
It is wrong because she is nothing else now; she died as Queen of England.
- It is wrong because she is nothing else now; she died as Queen of England.
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3 Answers
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It is wrong because she is nothing else now; she died as Queen of England.
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You actually can say that - "used to" can be used to talk about any past facts or generalizations that are no longer true.
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