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Re: [GWL]: new topic?

Title: Re: [GWL]: new topic?
Actually (now there's an overused word, in the UK at least), I think in England people are now more likely to say "I didn't used to garden" or "I never used to garden" although "I used not to garden" definitely sounds more elegant and is what my mother (aged 80+ and stickler for these things) would say.

As for that disgraceful slur on The Guardian (my favourite paper)...! Twenty years ago it was famous for its typos (though even these were mainly in the first edition, printed early and in a rush to catch the train for the far flung parts of the country). Now it is typo free. And it is sometimes called The Grauniad because as part of the settlement of a libel suit against a satirical magazine in the 1960s, the magazine was prevented from using the name of the paper on its pages - so they anagrammed it into The Grauniad.

The Guardian, by the way, says he returning to the topic of horticulture, is the paper in which Christopher Lloyd writes a weekly column (available on line this week at http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,625811,00.html and every saturday at http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend).

Graham Rice

It's "used to garden" as in I "used to drive a Chevy, but garden writing made me rich, so now I drive a BMW." This is an idiomatic expression, which means it doesn't follow other grammar rules. For example, its only use is in the past tense.
However, I have a question about the negative form. American textbooks teach "I didn't use to garden, but now I do." When I lived in England (I used to live in England), I started saying "I used not to garden," and I'm not sure if the English actually say it this way or if I was just being affected. (Graham, are you there?)
The question form is "Did you use to garden?" just as as we say "Did you eat?" not "Did you ate?"
 
 
Hamptongar@aol.com wrote:
 OK...here's one for the experts.  Which is correct and why?  I used to garden or I use to garden?  Think about it though.  I suspect it's not as easy as it looks.  No wise guys answers like "I once gardened" are acceptable.
 

Andrew Messinger
The Hampton Gardener
The Hampton Gardener is a Registered Trade Mark
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