# Quick grammar question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 8, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-grammar-question/233170 "2004-03-08T19:52:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Thrillhouse15](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@Thrillhouse15](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thrillhouse15)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-grammar-question/233170/1 "2004-03-08T19:52:13Z")
I have a friend who drives a red car. One day I see that friend driving a blue car. I ask the friend, “Didn’t you used to drive a red car?” This doesn’t sound correct to me. And saying, “Didn’t you formerly drive a red car?” sounds stilted. Is there a better way to (correctly) phrase this question? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-grammar-question/233170/2 "2004-03-08T19:59:32Z")
In my experience there is no elegant way to express the “used to” form in the negative. This form is correct – “Used you not to drive a red car?” – but it’s hopelessly stilted. For me, the most natural way to express this idea in conversation is – “Didn’t you have a red car?” – In my dialect, you usually say that someone _has_ a particular car, rather than _drives_ a particular car. You use “drive” only when actual driving is taking place – in other words – “have” a car - owning or possessing or habitually using a car “drive” a car - in the act of operating a car right now ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-grammar-question/233170/3 "2004-03-08T20:56:03Z")
It’s “didn’t use to” in the negative. Ergo: “Didn’t you use to drive a car.” By analogy: “I had to go to work.” “Didn’t you _have_ to go to work” It’s also “use to” in questions: “Did you use to drive a car?” [url=“[http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/065.html](http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/065.html)”]In case you want a citation.\* ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-grammar-question/233170/4 "2004-03-08T20:57:07Z")
[Fixed link](http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/065.html) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-grammar-question/233170/5 "2004-03-08T22:48:42Z")
I agree with Pulykamell. The reason it sounds wrong is that “use to” and “used to” are pronounced identically. In fact, the form is rapidly cliticizing (becoming one word) usta, in parallel with such forms as wanna, hafta, and gonna. Thus the language matures. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-grammar-question/233170/6 "2004-03-08T22:57:12Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > This form is correct – > > “Used you not to drive a red car?” > > – Actually, I don’t think this is at all correct. “Used to” is either a marginal modal, or phrasal modal, depending on who you ask, and it’s considered to be one unit. I am pretty sure the rules are against splitting it in the way you are doing. It also sounds grammatically incorrect to the ear. I might be wrong, but similar structure, like “Had you not to go to work?” sounds hopelessly wrong. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-grammar-question/233170/7 "2004-03-09T01:32:02Z")
‘Didn’t you **use** to drive a red car?’ OR ‘Did you get your car painted?’ ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-grammar-question/233170/8 "2004-03-09T16:13:38Z")
**Pulykamell** , I know of no rule of English grammar that forbids such splitting of compound verbs, particularly in interrogative form – “Had you not to go to work?” sounds awkward to me, but it’s not grammatically incorrect so far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-grammar-question/233170/9 "2004-03-09T20:11:00Z")
Well, like I said, I’m not 100% positive, it’s just that I’ve never come across such a construction, and even googling for that construction (“had you not to”) gives less than a page of relevant results, suggesting it sounds hopelessly wrong to most ears. But, furthermore, I’ve found this on marginal modal auxilliaries: > [@](#): > > Marginal modal auxiliaries: need, dare, have (got) to, used to > > These verbs can behave in two different ways, as regards their grammatical properties: > > · like modal auxiliaries (i.e. No s-form, no do-periphrasis, followed by bare infinitives): He needn’t/daren’t tell her. Need/dare he tell her? > > · like lexical verbs/catenatives (i.e. s-form in 3rd person present tense, possibility of non-finite forms, followed by to-infinitive, do-periphrasis in negative and interrogative sentences): He needs/dares to tell her. Did he need/dare to tell her? Do you have to sing that loud? She used to sing to us. (Did she use(d) to sing to you?) “Used to” and “had to” fits in the second category, which states “do” is used in the negative and interrogative forms. from: [http://folk.uio.no/hhasselg/grammar/Week9\_ch7b.htm](http://folk.uio.no/hhasselg/grammar/Week9_ch7b.htm)