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I am trying to find out if this question is correct.

Did Wang Bo used to be awkward?

Should I write "use to be" instead of "used to be," or is "used to be" correct in this sentence?

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  • Officially it's "used to be" (and that should be used in written text), but even native English speakers cannot detect the difference between "used to be" and "use to be", when spoken.
    – Hot Licks
    Oct 27, 2015 at 5:49

3 Answers 3

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Used as an adjective. Use to be + used to. This means to be accustomed to. For example- I can study with the TV on. I am used to it. It means I am accustomed, adjusted, or don't mind having the TV play while I'm studying. Or another example- Tim had a hard time living in Tokyo. He wasn't used to so many people. Tim didn't have experience being with big crowds of people before.

Used as a verb. Use to + verb is a regular verb and means something that happened but doesn't happen any more. It uses -ed to show past tense. But since it always means something that happened in the past, it should always use past tense. For example- I used to go to school in Paris. (I went to school there before, but now I don't.) Or, When Joshua was a child, he used to climb trees. (Now he doesn't climb trees.)

Remember, we always use this word when talking about the past. So when do you use use to without the d at the end? When the base form of the verb is used. Look at these examples- She didn't use to swim before noon. (Now she does swim before noon.) Or Did your father use to ride a horse? In these cases the past tense is shown with the did and didn't.

In short, the two words don't exactly mean the same thing.

Source: http://www.5minuteenglish.com/mar20.htm

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You can use both. Oxforddictionaries.com votes for "Did he use to" whereas other sources include "Did he used to "http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv285.shtml

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In your construct, you want "used to be"

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    This may or may not be true; could you expand on this a little? It's always a good idea to offer some evidence with your answers. Can you provide some reputable reference or source for your claim?
    – JHCL
    Oct 27, 2015 at 9:45

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