Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

crliu · Joined: 18 May 2003 Posts: 16

How do I make a "question" sentence out of the sentence below?

They used to live in the same room.

Is it correct to write "Did they use to live in the same room" as a question?

Thanks for your help.

obelix · Joined: 09 Feb 2003 Posts: 304

Used they to live in the same room?

Lib · Joined: 02 May 2003 Posts: 35

'Did the use to live....? or 'Used they to live ...?' Both options are correct.

dduck · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 109 Location: Scotland/Mexico

bud · Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 2111 Location: New Jersey, US

I've never heard of the construction Obelix and Lib used, and I would have thought it was incorrect. Since two have said the same thing, I guess it is a difference between BE and AE.

In AE, it would be phrased as: "Did they use to live in the same room?"

Corey · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Posts: 445 Location: Costa Rica

"Used they to live"....

NEVER.

"Did they used to live..." is the ONLY way I can think of the use this.

Good luck,

Corey
_________________
Niagara Summer Programs

bud · Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 2111 Location: New Jersey, US

Corey, but I think "use" would not be in its past form. "Did" conveys that it was in the past. It'd be like saying "Did they failed to come to the meeting?" which is obviously incorrect.

Lib · Joined: 02 May 2003 Posts: 35

I know it (used you to ...) sounds strange, but I've seen it in several books .... will look it up again and let you all know where.. I've also heard people use it ... but then, I've heard things like 'you better go' too.

dduck · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 109 Location: Scotland/Mexico

pugachevV · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 2295

According to the Oxford you can say, "did they use to?" or "used they to?"
So pardon me if I disregard your assertion that it is incorrect, Ducky baby.
Some of the older grammar books say that "did they use to?" is not correct but as Mark and others have said, the language is developing constantly.

dduck · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 109 Location: Scotland/Mexico

Lib · Joined: 02 May 2003 Posts: 35

Other languages, like Spanish, have a much nicer way of expressing habitial actions, eg. �Vivia ellos en el mismo cuatro? Spanish uses an imperfect tense that English doesn't have.

In my humble opinion, just about everything is nicer in Spanish. So at least we agree on that. Maybe you should have said �Viv�an (ellos) en el mismo cuaRTo?, which means Did they use to live in the same room? Living in a 'four' sounds rather strange, don't you think?

Lib · Joined: 02 May 2003 Posts: 35

According to Swan this expression is particular to British English, but I've never heard anyone ever use it. Are teachers really teaching this stuff? And if so, why? .......
(Sorry, the quote thing isn't as easy as it looks - so the above is a quote from Dduck)
Just because you haven't heard it, doesn't mean that people don't use it. I've heard it lots of times.
Whether or not I teach it is a different matter entirely.[/quote]

dduck · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 109 Location: Scotland/Mexico

Well, I've learned a couple of things. But I certainly wouldn't encourage students to use "old fashioned", and "very formal" language without mentioning the fact. Seems irresponsible to me. Rolling Eyes

And it's quite possible that you mix in different social circles to me; I'm not on first name terms with the Queen. Cool

Iain
_________________

Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.
--Chinese Proverb

marksesl · Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 16

The way people actually talk now is what matters. It's "Did they use to live in the same room." And, "use" not "used" is correct, because "Did" is already in the past tense. --so there!

Be sure to post messages on Mark's ESL World Grammar Forum:

http://eslwideworld.com/forums/cgi/access/grammar_help.cgi
_________________
Visit Mark's ESL World for many ESL resources.