英语语法：95 Used to Versus Use to

Grammar Girl here.

About a month ago I answered a bunch of short listener questions, and I promised I'd answer a few more short ones soon. Well, today's the day!

Use to Versus¹ Used to

Hi, Grammar Girl. This is Barrett in Nantucket on Nantucket Island, of course. My question is about the usage of I used to and whether that is I use to u-s-e or u-s-e-d. I referenced it on the Internet and couldn't get a definitive² answer on that. Both options seem to come up and it ended up coming to a head today with a lunch with a bunch of construction guys sitting around the bar arguing. And I thought that was pretty funny, and thought now is the time to call Grammar Girl. Thanks. Keep it up.
 
The right way to say this is “used to” with a “d” on the end. People get confused about this phrase because the d and t sounds between the words are easy to run together, but it's easy to remember that used to is the right form. Just remember that when you say you used to do something you are talking about the past, and you make most verbs past tense by adding -d or -ed to the end. So just as you say you heavED yourself into the kayak or twirlED in a circle, you say you usED to have a lot more fun than sitting around at lunch arguing about words. Thanks, Barrett!
 
Different From Versus Different Than
 
Grammar Girl, this is Tom in Waco, Texas. I've got three items I'd like to get your opinion on. One is the use of different from versus different than. I always was taught, and this was high school over 50 years ago, that it was always different from.
Hi, Tom. I answer only one question per person, so I chose your first one. Most language experts prefer different from to different than. I keep this straight by remembering that different has two f's and only one t, so the best choice between than and from is the one that starts with an f -- from. Different from.
 
Making Acronyms⁴ Plural⁵
 
Hi, Grammar Girl. This is Kay from Kirkland. If we are using the letters of an abbreviated⁶ term—for instance CPA for certified⁷ public accountant—I see different usages for two of them. I would think if you were talking about two CPAs who went to lunch it would be CPAs, but I often see it used with an apostrophe s (CPA's). I've seen different usages in The New York Times and Seattle Times. Which do you think is the best usage?
Previously⁸, I reported that although the most common way to make an acronym³ or initialism plural is to add an s to the end, there was one notable holdout: The New York Times, which insisted on using an apostrophe to make acronyms and initialisms plural. Well, I'm thrilled to report that just a few weeks ago, The New York Times changed its style and will no longer use apostrophes to make acronyms and initialisms plural! So I now feel more confident than ever advising you to make initialisms and acronyms plural by simply adding an s to the end.
 
Neil asked a related question: how to make initialisms plural when you’re pluralizing the first word of the phrase when it is written out. For example, RBI can stand for “run batted in” or “runs batted in.” Well, Neil, it's OK to add an s to the end of RBI to make RBIs the plural of runs batted in, even though the s is added to run when you write the whole thing out. So a run batted in is an RBI, and runs batted in are RBIs. 
You can also find a transcript⁹ of this podcast, my contact information, and all the other great Quick and Dirty Tips podcasts at quickanddirtytips.com. Thanks for listening.

 

1 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

2 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

3 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

4 acronyms   

n.首字母缩略词( acronym的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Scratch the subject of defence and acronyms, abbreviations, and buzzwords fly out. 话题触及国防，缩合字，缩写字和行话就满天飞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some acronyms as scientific terminology are used as a lexical item. 一些科学术语缩写用作词汇项目。 来自互联网

5 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

6 abbreviated   

adj. 简短的，省略的 动词abbreviate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He abbreviated so much that it was hard to understand his article. 他的文章缩写词使用太多，令人费解。
• The United States of America is commonly abbreviated to U.S.A.. 美利坚合众国常被缩略为U.S.A.。

7 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。