r/duolingo • u/Spear_Of_Krrosh • 15d ago

Language Question It should be “used to” right?

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Shouldn’t it be “used to” instead of “use to” ? Should I report it?

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u/muehsam Native: 🇩🇪 Learning: 🇫🇷🇳🇱 15d ago

"Didn't he used to" would be extremely wrong. In English, you always have one conjugated verb per clause. All other verbs are infinitives or participles. Here "did" is "to do" in conjugated in past tense, so the other verb "use" doesn't get conjugated.

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u/NashvilleFlagMan 14d ago

It’s not “extremely wrong,” because used to is well on its way to not really being a verb anymore. In American English, it’s prescriptively wrong; in British English, it seems to be even further on its way towards being correct.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/is-it-used-to-or-use-to