[Essay] I need help about meaning...

[Fanoos62]

Hello every body
What does this sentence mean ? "She used to tell my parents"
Thanks in advance.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Your sentence is complete except for a full stop/period at the end, but without context, it has little meaning. What did she used to tell your parents?

 

[JMurray]

not a teacher

During a period in the past, she regularly told my parents something.

When I was a child my teacher used to tell my parents every time I misbehaved.

 

[Polyester]

Not a teacher.

"used to" must be used in the past. It meant you did something in the past.
(If wrong,hope someone will correct me)

 

[MikeNewYork]

You are correct. It refers to a past habitual action.

 

[Rover_KE]

Welcome to the forum, Fanoos.:-D

Please note that a better title would have been She used to tell my parents.

Extract from the Posting Guidelines:

'Thread titles should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.'

 

[Odessa Dawn]

:-D

Mike, why did you construct your question that way, please?

 

[MikeNewYork]

OD, I don't understand your question.

 

[Fanoos62]

this sentence is in my book .
"I was awful ! I wasn't interested in studying. All i wanted to do was go out with friends , and Wendy used to tell my parents.

 

[emsr2d2]

[strike]This sentence is[/strike] These sentences are in my book.

"I was awful! I wasn't interested in studying. All I wanted to do was go out with friends (there should not be a comma here) and Wendy used to tell my parents."

I assume the writer meant that Wendy used to tell the writer's parents every time he/she went out with friends instead of studying. It's not clear what she used to tell them though.

Please note my corrections in red. We don't put a space before a comma, full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.

 

[Odessa Dawn]

Apologies. I didn't know, Mike, that "What did she used to tell your parents?" is considered an alternative to "What did she use to tell your parents?".

 

[Fanoos62]

Thanks very much...

 

[Rover_KE]

There is no need to write a new post just to say "Thank you". It makes us think there is new information or a follow-up question and we spend time opening the thread. Simply click on the "Thank" button at the bottom left-hand corner of any post you find helpful.​

 

[riquecohen]

Apologies. I didn't know, Mike, that "What did she used to tell your parents?" is considered an alternative to "What did she use to tell your parents?".

I have never heard this before. Can you cite a source?

 

[emsr2d2]

I used to have a cat.
What animal did you use to have?

So OD, you are right, in the interrogative "used to" becomes "use to".

 

[Odessa Dawn]

:-D

What animal did you use to have?

Would you yourself please say "What animal did you used to have" in speech?

 

[Odessa Dawn]

:-D

Can you cite a source?

No. I have already emailed some language authorities and I am awaiting their replies, though.

 

[emsr2d2]

:-D

Would you yourself please say "What animal did you used to have" in speech?

In speech, it would be almost impossible to tell if someone inadvertently/incorrectly said "used to" in an interrogative sentence because we tend to run the final "d" and the first "t" together. I think that's why many people assume that it's always "used to" so they write it that way in the interrogative. Everyone knows it's "used to" in a statement so many people assume it's "used to" in the interrogative and, because they sound almost identical when spoken, that's what they write.

You can find many people who think that the correct phrase is "use to" because we don't separate the "d" from the "t", it actually sounds like "use to" whenever we say it.

So - some people get it wrong by always writing "used to" and some people get it wrong by always writing "use to". The correct usage is "used to" in a statement and "use to" in the interrogative.

 

[TheParser]

Can you cite a source?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


1. Michael Swan in his 1995 edition of Practical English Usage (entry #577 on page 604):

"In an informal style, it is more common to use ordinary question and negative forms with auxiliary do. Did you use to play football at school? I didn't use to like opera, but now I do. These forms are not often written; when they are, they are sometimes spelt did ... used to and didn't used to; many people consider these spellings incorrect [my emphasis]."

2. ASTONISHING discovery.

a. Bryan A. Gardiner is considered by SOME people to be the top authority in American English. I had assumed that he would agree with almost all American authorities that the negative is formed like any other verb after "do."

I was wrong.

Here is his OPINION in his 1998 edition of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage. (I do not know whether he has changed his tune in later editions.)

He says that "used to" is a phrase that means "formerly."

Thus, he claims that the correct form is "We didn't used to think of politics in quite these terms."

All of my other American books disagree with him. I am guessing that he will be forced to change his views, if he hasn't already done so.



James