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Thread: "didn’t use×" and "used not√"

  1. #1
    Odessa Dawn's Avatar
    Odessa Dawn is offline Senior Member
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    Default "didn’t use×" and "used not√"



    Q. They didn’t use to allow such goings-on here.
    A. didn’t use× used not√. Inelegant form of verb used, though the expression (didn’t use) is frequently used by inelegant speakers.

    Inelegant speakers must make up over 90% of the population, then. ‘used not’ sounds odd these days to most people.
    More: Gramorak's Blog | A haven for grammar bunnies

    I haven’t understood what has been mentioned in the above text thus far because I am not familiar with the word "
    inelegant" although I have checked the dictionary. As a result, according to the above explanation, what is the difference between the following pairs, please?

    I didn’t use to smoke.

    I used not to smoke.

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    SoothingDave is offline VIP Member
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    Default Re: "didn’t use×" and "used not√"

    Do you know the word "elegant"?

    I'm not sure why this author calls this formation "inelegant." As he notes, the "inelegant" formation is the commonly used one.

    I would never say "I used not to..."

    Maybe it's different in BrE.
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    Default Re: "didn’t use×" and "used not√"



    Happy New Year, Dave!

    Quote Originally Posted by SoothingDave View Post
    Do you know the word "elegant"?
    inelegant

    adjective clumsy, awkward, ungainly, rough, crude, coarse, crass, gauche, uncouth, unrefined, clunky (informal), graceless, uncultivated, unpolished, indelicate, ungraceful
    More: inelegant - definition of inelegant by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

    We have multiple synonyms, I couldn’t pick up the appropriate one. However, I would use either awkward or clunky.



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    Default Re: "didn’t use×" and "used not√"

    I would go more with "unrefined, unpolished, graceless."
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    Default Re: "didn’t use×" and "used not√"

    Quote Originally Posted by SoothingDave View Post
    I'm not sure why this author calls this formation "inelegant." As he notes, the "inelegant" formation is the commonly used one.
    It was not I (as gramorak) who called this structure inelegant. It was the writer I was criticising.
    bhaisahab, Odessa Dawn and Tdol like this.
    Context is important. Please provide enough for us to be able to deal effectively with your question.
    Your thread title should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.
    If you just want to know the meaning of a word, try OneLook Dictionary Search first.


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    Tdol is offline Editor, UsingEnglish.com
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    Default Re: "didn’t use×" and "used not√"

    Quote Originally Posted by Odessa Dawn View Post
    I haven’t understood what has been mentioned in the above text thus far because I am not familiar with the word "inelegant" although I have checked the dictionary.
    Ooooh, get along with you.
    Odessa Dawn likes this.

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