I just had this discussion with one of the authors I work with and have given him my answer to the question. I'm curious to know what others think.

I used to be blonde


I use to be blonde

are both correct these days? I ask because I have seen some authors use it.



Edited to change the title.

No, personally speaking as far as I'm concerned "used to" is the acceptable form.

However, again personally speaking - as someone who himself used to be blond - I would only say it colloquially. So I might use 'used to' (not 'use to') in my dialogue or something(...or maybe in Aaron's narration in BMAD/WAS since the whole story is pretty informal), but for more formal writing I would probably shy away from the phrase altogether.

Just my preference though
Kevin

.................I think 'used to' is correct!! I do however reserve judgement due to an overabundance of Blonde jokes at my disposal!!

I found a link that says:

I put "use to" and "suppose to" on the same level as "ain't" or "sorta"

I basically think of the 'd' as a swallowed letter, so it sounds correct, but in the written word, it's never correct.

Right, that's how I see it too.

The general rule is when there is did or didn't in the sentence, the correct form is use to (without d) when there is no did or didn't in the sentence, the correct form is used to (with d).

interesting, Sharon! can you give us a full sentence where it's correct without the 'd'?

Ask and you shall receive.

• Did you use to go out with my sister?
• Did they use to own the company?
• Didn't we use to go to the same school?

I think used is the correct choice for your sentence "I used to be blonde" The clear implication of the statement is that something occurred in the past. Use is present tense.

Sharon is also correct about the word use with did or didn't. Did or didn't satisfies the past tense requirement; used would be redundant.

All the above applies to written communication. If you are writing dialog, your characters are likely to run words together resulting in something like "useta" or "didn'useta".

used it is...

This link was sent to me via email. I've also added the link to the pinned references in this section.

Thanks for sending it to me John.

Seems that John and I have the same link bookmarked.

used to, to indicate an habit in the past. Equivalent to the French imparfait in this regard (though the imparfait is used for other purposes, e.g. replacing the past continuous: "We were having wild sex when the telephone rang."
In a dialog, use to might translate the speaker's assimilation of the "d" sound" with the following "t" sound. If you hear it pronounced this way, then it's fine.

It may also have something to do with locale. I know my late English teacher grandmother would pitch a fit every time one of her students wrote 'use to' instead of 'used to'. She would tell them it was alright to drop the 'd' when speaking but not when writing.

She would then go on to say 'school is an institute of learning, not s-c-o-o-l'. She was a hard-nosed teacher but her pupils loved her.

Use, used, using: transitive verb meaning to employ, put into service, expend, consume, treat. In these senses, “use” requires an object.

Use, used, using: intransitive verb meaning to be accustomed or customarily found, must be used with an infinitive and only to express the past. “We used to go to town more often.” Note that the “to” belongs with “go,” and not with “used.” The forum discussion may not be so much about “used + to” or “use + to” but about “used + infinitive” or “use + infinitive.”

I used to be blonde because I used peroxide. (Now my hair is falling out.)

I do not like “use + infinitive” in sentences such as, “Did you not use to go to school?”

On the other hand, “Did you not used to go to school?” is worse, and clearly wrong. I believe, and limited research seems to confirm, that “use + infinitive” is becoming archaic.

Lacking the courage of my convictions, I would write, “Didn’t you once go to school?”

That, boys and girls, is the wonder of the English language: it has more words than perhaps any other language extant. There's always a work-around.

If you are not familiar with Professor Elliot Engel’s “A Light History of the English Language,” I recommend it. This lecture is available on audio disk…I found it easy to convince the local public library to buy a copy. (His web site is www.authorsink.com .)

There's a reason why you are the BEST editor. I used to think that, now I know it is true.

Instead of "Didn't you use to go out with my sister?", which sounds stilted and almost archaic to my ears, I would recommend

"You used to go out with my sister, didn't you?"

This is another workaround in English, and is analogous to other languages that have idioms and particles such as "n'est-ce pas?", "nicht wahr?" and "¿verdad?"

Canadians can go you one better with, "You used to go out with my sister, eh?" Essentially, you can ask any question by adding "eh" to a statement.