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Does it make any sense to the native-speakers? If yes, how does it sound?

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Is there something specific you're unsure about? Proofreading questions are generally off topic. – simchona♦ Oct 6 '11 at 4:59
I wasn't sure about how it sounds to native-speakers. In this case, the question is self-descriptive. "Proofreading questions are generally off topic" - ok, got it, will never do this again. – Nemoden Oct 7 '11 at 8:53
How is this a proofreading question? It sounds like Nemoden wants to know if and how it makes sense to native speakers, not if it's grammatically correct. – spotlightdev Oct 10 '11 at 17:00

closed as off topic by aedia λ, simchona♦, Mehper C. Palavuzlar, Hugo, Daniel δ Oct 6 '11 at 12:10

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2 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

No, it does not make much sense at all.

The first clause is the worst part. One is only born once, and the "I used to..." construct is for continuous events. "I was born" is correct, but one wouldn't really say that.

You likely meant this:

I have not grown up since I was born.

Even that, though, is a little awkward.

I never grew up.

I've never grown up.

A good adjective to use to describe this is 'juvenescent.' 'Jejune' works as well, but has some negative connotations.

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"You likely meant this". Not quite true :) I've deliberately corrupted this sentence in order to make it sound like it is said by non-planet-earth-creature (one from Betelgeuse, maybe) trying to learn our language (funny enough, in this case, not even MY native language :) ). So, it was corrupted for purpose and hadn't meant to be well-formed English sentence, that's why it was interesting what kind of sense it makes because I had a feeling (which is confirmed now) it won't make any. So, thank you for the answer! – Nemoden Oct 7 '11 at 8:53
up vote 4 down vote

It's gobbledygook...what you're trying to do is combine "I used to have" (infinitive) with "I have been born" (present perfect), then apply the "to have" (infinitive) to "I have never grown" (present perfect). It's garbled and nonsensical. From what I can tell, it looks like the meaning the sentence is attempting to convey is, "I was born and since then I have never grown up."

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Thank you for the answer! And... I've learned a new word - "gobbledygook" :) – Nemoden Oct 7 '11 at 8:54
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Glad to help expand your vocabulary :) – spotlightdev Oct 10 '11 at 17:01

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