Date:  Mon, 7 Apr 1997 17:52:28 -0400
From:  "Dennis R. Preston" <preston[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]PILOT.MSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: used to could

What can you say besides 'used to could'? Can't nobody I know say 'Used to
be able to' (less they funnin or, as Greg suggests, from the Deep North).

DInIs

>I used to could use this form when I lived in the South (Mississippi,
>Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, and even in Li'l Dixie in Missouri). I can't
>use it 'free and easy' in Chicago, although there are some contexts on the
>southside and the westside where I've heard it used, generally by AAVE
>speakers.
>
>
>Greg Pulliam
>gpulliam[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]charlie.iit.edu
>Illinois Institute of Technology
>Chicago

Dennis R. Preston
Department of Linguistics and Languages
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA
preston[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]pilot.msu.edu
Office: (517)432-1235
Fax: (517)432-2736