45 Comments
When using "did", the main verb doesn't change to the past form:
- She used to drink
- She did not use to drink
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Not sure that is true, and even if it is, that construction is not commonly used in conversational English.
She didn't use to drink wine, I think, is the grammatically correct option. Although, I'm sure that many people say what you have written.
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It could be incorrect because it's a double negative and it splits the infinitive. It sounded correct when I wrote it. :)
English is my first language and i said "used to drink" which was marked wrong. I was sure "use to drink" was wrong, but now I realise I was mistaken
Used to drink is correct in English as a positive statement. But for the negative, it becomes "did not USE to drink." Duolingo follows this usage pretty consistently.
The problem with this is that we as English speakers are somewhat lazy and will often mix up 'use' and 'used' just to make the sentence flow better when speaking
In speach "use to" and "used to" will end up sounding the same for most speakers, unless they are being precise in their diction.
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Wikipedia has a very interesting article that covers the semi-modal auxiliary verb "used to": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_markers_of_habitual_aspect.
Actually, it is also considered correct to say "She did not used to drink wine," although that is now less common. Of course, it would be wrong to do likewise to just any ordinary verb. Well, "use/used" can also be just an ordinary verb, but there is even a distinction in pronunciation. As an ordinary verb it is pronounced with a z sound: /juːzd/, while as a marker of habitual aspect, it is pronounced with an s sound: /juːsd/. Most of us don't even realize we say it differently, even if we never fail to do so. I think that once we are aware of how we pronounce this special verb differently, then it would no longer feel wrong to say "She did not used to drink wine."
"Used to" is a semi-modal verb and functions like an ordinary verb in AmE.
I didn't use to do something.
I used to do something.
Because of the pronunciation link between the two consonents "d" and "t", it's difficult to hear the "d" sound.
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It's absolutely fine. While modern English generally uses the auxiliary verbs do/does for negatives, in this particular construction it's fine not to use them.
It is grammatically correct, but modern English (BrE & AmE) tends to use the auxiliaries do/does for negatives and questions.
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I like it as it seems it could be a more emphatic negative but Duolingo disagreed!
I included that version in a post on this page three years ago. Both are valid as well as the BrE version "I used not to...".
Vou fazer o advogado do diabo agora... "ela não estava bebendo vinho" carrega exatamente a mesma informação de "ela não bebia vinho", e portanto deveria ser aceita!
So the imperfect tense describes more habitual actions than continuous, is that it?
I meant continuous within a particular span of time. The past progressive seems to be just a past version of the present progressive (which would make sense).
From Whitlam's "Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar:"
"Bebia vinho" is more formal while "estava bebendo" is preferred for speaking and informal writing.
I would have thought it was the other way around and formality was definitely not my primary concern. But thank you, now I know!
'She was not drinking...' was marked correct. In English we think of the Imperfect as meaning 'was/were' OR 'used to'. I'm having trouble now assimilating a past progressive, but the PTPT version would not use the gerund I think - 'estava a beber'?
It's possible.
Portuguese, although a little formal or literary, uses the simple forms meaning progressive tenses.
These may be possible translations:
- No momento, eu bebo vinho = At the moment, I am drinking wine
- Naquele momento, ela não bebia vinho = At that moment, she was not drinking wine
She would not drink wine = Ela nao beberia vinho
I think this should be "she wasn't drinking wine" and "she didn't drink wine" and "she didn't used to drink wine". Please let me know native speakers!
She wasnt drinking wine = ela não estava bebendo vinho, she didn't drink wine = ela não bebeu vinho / ela não bebia vinho. She didnt use to drink wine = ela não bebia vinho / ela não costumava beber vinho
There are many valid translations of the "imperfeito" depending on context and sentence structure.
Ela não bebia vinho.
• She didn't drink wine.
• She didn't use to drink wine./She never used to drink wine.
• She used not to drink wine. (BrE)
• She wasn't drinking wine when I saw her last night.
• When she was young, she wouldn't drink wine, but now she does.
This tense may be a usual action in the past (which would take "used to" in English)
There is a type of past habitual action in English that takes "would". This is different from the usual conditionals, though:
- When I was a child, my mom would (used to) read me a story every night = Quando eu era criança, minha mãe lia uma história toda noite para mim
- If I were you, I would (conditional) think twice... = Se eu fosse você, (eu) pensaria duas vezes....
Also, there is an informal usage of the preterite imperfect replacing the conditionals:
- Se eu fosse você, eu pensaria duas vezes (formal) = Se eu fosse você, eu pensava duas vezes (informal)
Finally, Portuguese simple tenses may be used (although more formally and literary) as continuous actions:
- Ela bebia = (may be) = Ela estava bebendo
Those are the reasons for accepting so many variations (all of them with sort of a continuous sense):
- Ela não bebia vinho =
- She did not drink wine
- She did not use to drink wine
- She would not drink wine
- She was not drinking wine
But for very very literal translations, you can follow Paulenrique's answer :)
You will never hear this sentence in English, and present tense "use to" is grammatically wrong in talking about the past.
It functions like any other verb in the past tense. When you use the auxiliary "did", the base infinitive is required. In this case, "use".
• Joe used to drink beer.
• Joe did not use to drink beer.
I didn't used to, just won't go away... Like an orange president.
I really don't know which is worse: DL's translations or the "Sunkist" leader.
How are you, Peter?
I hope that all that changes, but it seems like division and hatred are being spewed and too many people are buying it. OTOH, there are some bright spots, the democratic candidate in NYC, not even 30!
Yes, as a native English speaker, I agree with these comments. 'She used to' sound fine to me, though it's not a thing I've often found myself writing.
she used not to drink wine BUT never she did not use to drink wine --in England it is very bad English
Both Lord Randolph Quick, British grammarian, and the Cambridge Dictionary contradict your statement that "did not use to" is "bad" English.
Quirk: (A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, Longman) states: "'He usen't to smoke' and 'He used not to smoke' as preferred by many in British English, and 'He didn't use to smoke' is used by both British English and American English speakers."
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/past/used-to
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"She didn't used to drink wine," despite not being correct by a prescriptivist's definition of correctness, has been common usage for a long time and should be accepted.
