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  #1 (permalink)  
Old 02-Sep-2008, 11:46
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Default 'Used to have'

Will someone please help me, I am a teaching trainee and I am stuck on this question.

What is the tense / form of 'used to have?' As in 'I used to have a dog'.

Is it the past of 'to use' + the infinitive of 'to have',

a sort of 'past progressive of to have'

or is it 'used to + have?'
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Old 02-Sep-2008, 17:42
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Default Re: 'Used to have'

Quote:
Originally Posted by susiekay View Post
Will someone please help me, I am a teaching trainee and I am stuck on this question.

What is the tense / form of 'used to have?' As in 'I used to have a dog'.

Is it the past of 'to use' + the infinitive of 'to have',

a sort of 'past progressive of to have'

or is it 'used to + have?'
The last option is fine.
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Old 02-Sep-2008, 17:52
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Default Re: 'Used to have'

Quote:
Originally Posted by susiekay View Post
Will someone please help me, I am a teaching trainee and I am stuck on this question.

What is the tense / form of 'used to have?' As in 'I used to have a dog'.

Is it the past of 'to use' + the infinitive of 'to have',

a sort of 'past progressive of to have'

or is it 'used to + have?'
Yes, it's "used to + have", "used to" indicates a past habit or situation which no longer pertains; so you can have "used to plus verb" to indicate anything in that category.
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Old 02-Sep-2008, 18:45
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Default Re: 'Used to have'

Syntactically "used to' is the structural element of a compound verbal predicate. It can't be treated as a finite form of 'use'. I believe it is either a phasal or a modal unit.
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Old 03-Sep-2008, 13:02
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Default Re: 'Used to have'

Thank you all for your answers.

Susie
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