“Did James used to wake up late on Saturdays?”
Why you put “used” instead of “use” in the sentence?
‘Used’ is the past tense to use. This question is asking about something James did in the past, but doesn’t do any more. One of the ways you can tell that it’s in the past tense is by the word ‘did’, which is used when talking about something that has already happened.
Think of “used to” as a set phrase, always referring to something that regularly happened or that someone regularly did in the past, but no longer. It’s used and not use, because it’s in the past. Never say or write “use to” as this expression only ever refers to something in the past.
As with much of English grammar, it’s better to just accept it as a set phrase than to think too much about it.
1 Like
Best to consult a dictionary or grammar guide.
I think that applies to all languages.
2 Likes
It actually is “did he use to?”, “did James use to?” (third person)
although in first person it would be “I used to” - “Did I use to?”
and when it’s not a question in third person: “James used to”
See: https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/is-it-used-to-or-use-to
" Use to: Usages (with ‘Did’)
The problem becomes a little trickier in constructions with did. The form considered correct following did, at least in American English, is use to. Just as we say “Did he want to?” instead of “Did he wanted to?,” so we say “Did he use to?” instead of “Did he used to?” Here again, only in writing does the difference become an issue.
While in American English “did used to” is considered an error, such usage appears to have won some measure of acceptance in British English:"
This reminds me of a Mitch Hedberg joke - “I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too.”
2 Likes
“Used” in “Used to VERB…” is more like a modal verb that means “VERB’ed in the past many times/regularly but stopped” than anything to do with the meaning of “to use” like “to utilize” as in “I used the sink to wash my hands”. When I hear or think about “used to…” I hear the word but it doesn’t register in my mind as having anything to do with the idea of “utilized”.
“I used to go to school” means “I went to school many times in the past/regularly but stopped/no longer”
Also, for me in the Midwest “used” like “I used the sink…” (normal verb) is pronounced like “yoozed” whereas “I used to wash my hands in the sink” (modal/set phrase) is pronounced like “yoost-to”.
“Used to VERB” only does this with “used” in the -ed form. The other tenses don’t have the modal-type usage. “I will use to go to school” and “I have used to go to school” make zero sense.
Your example “Did James used to wake up late on Saturdays?” just like other sorts of questions “Did you used to work at XYZ?” or “Did you used to use your wood-burning fireplace before you had it inspected?” etc. all make sense as I completely understand them and this is how you’d ask it–you’re asking them to confirm an action is a thing they did in the past and no longer do now, so the verb is in -ed tense. But the more I look at them the less “used” makes sense itself, this must be mind boggling to an ESL person. Welcome to English, I suppose! (You should be used to this by now. LOL)