grammar - Is "Didn't used to have been" a valid structure?


Are the following sentences valid:



It didn't used to happen.


It didn't used to have been there.



And if so, what tenses are they?



Answer



"Didn't used to ..." is a colloquialism (i.e. informal) combining "didn't" and "used to" and both are past tense, like a double negative. And like a double negative, it's not wrong, just not formal. In fact both forms are common and informal.


See http://thestar.com.my/english/story.asp?file=/2007/11/9/lifefocus/19384883&sec=lifefocus


It is used quite often by many people, including journalists:


http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/102182784.html


http://www.stuhenderson.com/21RACFS.pdf


By the way, although Google NGrams can be misused, I think a direct comparison here using that tool is informative here.


didn't used to vs. didn't use to


It shows that both terms are used and that "didn't used to" has gained ascendancy over the latter half of the 20th century.


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