Colin Firth confuses again
The other day I was watching Nanny McPhee and was baffled by a grammatical form used by the character of Colin Firth. Namely, referring to the nanny's wart that seemed to have disapeared he said:
- Didn't you used to have two of those?
it was strange to see negation in the past tense + "used to" in its past form. I tried to delve into forums but it seems like it's colloquial although not entirely correct.
Disclaimer: not to blame Colin Firth :) I was watching with subs and so was it in them. Unfortunately, since "use to" and "used to" are pronounced almost identically I can't make it out myself whether he says correctly :(
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Colin Firth confuses again
The other day I was watching Nanny McPhee and was baffled by a grammatical form used by the character of Colin Firth. Referring to the nanny's wart that seemed to have disapeared he said:- Didn't you used to have two of those?
it was strange to see negation in the past tense + "used to" in its past form. I tried to delve into forums but it seems like it's colloquial although not entirely correct.
Disclaimer: not to blame Colin Firth :) I was watching with subs and so was it in them. Unfortunately, since "use to" and "used to" are pronounced almost identically and I can't distinguish what he says :(
Very well written!
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'used to' is a popular in spoken english to talk about a situation that has changed. 'i once did/had something, now I don't' can be expressed as 'i used to do/have something' (using the present form of the main verb).
I live in China, and when I'm speaking in English I say this all the time, and it confuses so many people!
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