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Page 496 of Collins Cobuild English Usage reads

You form 'yes/no'-questions with used to by putting did in front of the subject, followed by use to: Did you use to do that, when you were a kid?

WARNING: many people use used to instead of use to in questions. However, some people consider that this use is incorrect,

Did you used to play with your trains?

If the 'wh'-word is the object of the clause, or part of the object, you use the auxiliary do after it, followed by the subject and used to,

What did you used to do on Sundays?

I'd like to know why use to isn't possible in the second structure, What did you use to do on Sundays?

USED: https://oed.com/oed2/00273881

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    As was pointed out several years ago by our resident linguist John Lawler, in writing, there is no standard accepted spelling of this expression (Didn't it use / used to happen?). So the short answer is use to IS possible in the second structure. It's just that in the spoken version, no-one would normally know whether that /d/ was present or not. Collins is being unwise in taking sides on this matter.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Aug 25, 2020 at 16:10
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    The reason why there isn't a standard is that both versions look wrong to experienced readers, for different reasons, and there's nothing that can be done about it. Except avoid it in writing, or get used to one of the variants (which one will be a problem, since everybody will decide on their own).
    – John Lawler
    Commented Aug 25, 2020 at 16:48
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    @John: Haha - I like that both versions look wrong to experienced readers! I really wanted to be able to at least express a preference when writing my first comment here, but I find that when they're actually written down I don't like either. I have no problem at all with the spoken version (which to me can only have one form). It's a bit like exasperated / admonitory air sucked in between tip of tongue and palate - again, something I do all the time, but both Tut and Tsk look equally bad as written forms. And don't get me started on the "side click" for geeing up a horse!
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Aug 25, 2020 at 17:06
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    It's not "use(d) to" but just "use(d)". The "to" is part of the VP functioning as complement of "use(d)". The correct forms are: In interrogatives, "Did you use to play ...?". In declaratives, "You used to play ...", and in negatives "You didn't use to play ...".
    – BillJ
    Commented Aug 25, 2020 at 17:32
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    Yeah, but it looks wrong. Has nothing to do with grammatical function; it's vision and sound habits colliding with idiomatic lexical insertion.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Aug 25, 2020 at 17:33

2 Answers 2

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The normal, completely unremarkable negative (with Do-Support) of the idiom used to in

  • I used to like marshmallows.
    /a'yustuˌlayk'marʃˌmɛloz/

is pronounced (note the /st/ in both forms -- no /zd/ for used in this idiom)

  • /aydɪdṇ'yustuˌlayk'marʃˌmɛloz/

and that's not a problem. In speech.

There isn't even much confusion with the almost identical idiom be used to, meaning 'be accustomed to' -- most English speakers don't even notice that there are two of them.

But the past-tense-with-presupposition idiom used to does pose a problem, in writing. In speech it's treated as an infinitive, as required by Do-Support, no problem. But in writing used doesn't look like an infinitive; in fact, it's a past participle. But the idiom is spelled used to. Hence, there are two choices:

a) I didn't used to like marshmallows.

b) I didn't use to like marshmallows.

Both of these look wrong to experienced English readers, because both of them contain sequences readers have been taught to avoid as products of grammatical mistakes:

  • (a) contains didn't used, which is wrong -- Do-Support doesn't make a participle used.
    So that looks wrong.

  • (b) contains use to instead of used to, which is the idiom, so use gets a /z/ .
    And that looks wrong, too.

Too bad, so sad, English orthography flunks again.

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    Page 496 of Collins Cobuild English Usage reads "You form 'yes/no'-questions with used to by putting did in front of the subject, followed by use to: Did you use to do that, when you were a kid?"
    – GJC
    Commented Aug 25, 2020 at 17:54
  • Longman Pronunciation Dictionary: imgur.com/gallery/cObkvCM
    – GJC
    Commented Aug 25, 2020 at 18:02
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    One of the most spine-tingling things I've read. Nice!
    – marcellothearcane
    Commented Aug 27, 2020 at 15:48
  • oed.com/oed2/00273881
    – GJC
    Commented Nov 18, 2020 at 10:13
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There is a relevant account in https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/used-to.

I dislike both constructions in written prose. To use "use" in the second may momentarily muddle the reader's understanding of "use" (="in past times") with the other sort of "use" (use on Sundays - to do what? Use of tools, for example).

I would always edit such questions to "Used you to play with your trains?" and "What used you to do on Sundays?"

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    hast thou heard aught of the King's fate? Is he captured by Cromwell's men?
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Aug 25, 2020 at 17:29
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    In "Used you to play ...", "use" is an auxiliary verb, but in "Did you use to play ...?" it's a lexical verb, as evident from the fact that it requires do support. This is an important distinction.
    – BillJ
    Commented Aug 25, 2020 at 17:43
  • What do they actually mean by "Don’t use this form in written exams" ?
    – GJC
    Commented Aug 25, 2020 at 19:10
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    @GJC They probably mean that it may be used informally but that it is not suitable for educated writing.
    – Anton
    Commented Aug 25, 2020 at 21:19
  • @GJC: In other words, don’t use it when writing anything that is going to be graded by an English teacher.
    – Scott - Слава Україні
    Commented Aug 30, 2020 at 21:09

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