Talk:use to

Proscribed
Shouldn't this be labeled "proscribed"? —AryamanA (मुझसे बात करें • योगदान) 02:25, 23 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Should it? Merriam-Webster says it's standard (in certain grammatical instances), and used to is nonstandard in those instances. Who proscribes it, and in which instances? - -sche (discuss) 02:49, 23 February 2018 (UTC)
 * It says "In writing, however, use to in place of used to is an error." And then it says that in America English "did used to" is nonstandard but it is accepted to some degree in British English. I guess it's not proscribed then, just sometimes nonstandard. —AryamanA (मुझसे बात करें • योगदान) 04:08, 23 February 2018 (UTC)
 * It says "The form considered correct following did, at least in American English, is use to." That's the opposite of proscription, it's saying use to is correct in that instance, and did used to is the error. I suppose we could technically have two senses here, one for that instance of use to (something like "emphatic or present tense form of used to"?), and another for nonstandard use of use to where used to would be standard...I can't decide if that would be any clearer or more sensible than the current arrangement. - -sche (discuss) 06:42, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

Archaic use
USE (intransitive) to be accustomed, wont, or customarily found (used with an infinitive expressed or understood, and, except in archaic use, now only in the past): He used to go every day. Archaic use is not an error https://oed.com/oed2/00273881. --Backinstadiums (talk) 10:02, 18 November 2020 (UTC)


 * Based on this and the other thread above, I've had a go at splitting "infinitive or present tense form of used to" off from the erroneous use as a synonym of the past tense form. The infinitive/present tense use is currently labelled "now uncommon outside certain constructions" (with did), maybe "now archaic outside certain constructions" would also work. - -sche (discuss) 18:36, 18 November 2020 (UTC)

Deleting uses to and using to was a mistake
These forms were used historically in the old sense that we give here. Just as now say "I used to go to school", back then, you could say and write (and people did!) e.g. "he uses to attend the school down the hill", i.e. he currently does so regularly on an ongoing basis. So "uses to" and "using to" should be restored. Equinox ◑ 10:36, 9 July 2023 (UTC)