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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Please help
Please help
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manzura
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Please help
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Please help It seems to me i understand the " used to " structure but still some situations are confusing. For example what is the differance between " I lived here" and I used to live here" . and one more sentence : Flying is being good to me. what does it mean? can we say " Flying is becoming good to me � � or " Flying is good for me" Thank you very much Dear teachers!
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26 Sep 2014
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douglas
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"I lived here" and "I used to live here" are practically interchangeable, but "I lived here" generally requires a point in time in the past as a reference (either implied or explicit) --"used to" is its own time reference.
"Flying is being good to me."(as I see it) is informal and means it is treating me well--it is kind of metaphorical in that it implies that flying is an entity that can consciously treat me one way or another.
"Flying is becoming good to me" doesn �t really work; "Flying is becoming good for me" does.
Cheers,
Douglas |
26 Sep 2014
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...Alena...
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Could I go on and ask what "I used to be living here" implies?
Thanks a lot. |
26 Sep 2014
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yanogator
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Alena, I �ll take this one. Douglas gave you excellent answers, as usual. We would almost never say "I used to be living here". The continuous tenses emphasize a process over time, while "used to" emphasizes an activity that has ended, without dealing with the process or the time period (usually). I have been trying to think of a situation when I would say "I used to be living here", and I can �t come up with one. Bruce |
26 Sep 2014
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redcamarocruiser
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I agree with Bruce. "I used to be living here sounds strange. I also cannot come up with a scenario where it would be used. |
26 Sep 2014
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...Alena...
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Thank you very much for your replies.Did I get it right that no forms except "to-infinitive" can be used after the construction "used to"? Then, what about "get used" - what forms are possible?
Thank you once again.
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26 Sep 2014
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FrauSue
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Hi Alena,
"I used to" can only be used with a base verb following (e.g I used to like cheese). It refers to a habit in the past. In this structure, the "to" is part of the infinitive verb construction.
"To get used to" and "to be used to" can be used with either a noun or a gerund (-ing form of the verb) and they refer to something which is now familiar or habitual to you. (e.g. I used to hate cheese, but now I �m used to eating it on pizzas. / I �ve been living in France for a while now, so I �m used to long lunch breaks.) In this structure, the "to" is a preposition.
I hope that helps.
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26 Sep 2014
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yanogator
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In case anyone is interested, I have come up with an example of "used to" with a continuous form. It is the common use of the past continuous with an interruption: My son used to be sleeping when I would look in on him, but this week he has been playing with his toys. Bruce |
26 Sep 2014
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...Alena...
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Thank you, dear FrauSue,Thank you, dear Bruce, but I �m sorry to say that I can �t understand the meaning "when I would look in on him". |
26 Sep 2014
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yanogator
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"when I would open the door and look into the room, in order to check on him". Bruce |
26 Sep 2014
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...Alena...
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Thank you, dear FrauSue,Thank you, dear Bruce, but I �m sorry to say that I can �t understand the meaning "when I would look in on him". |
26 Sep 2014
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