Grammar Girl, is there no way to get the submissions to start at the top of the page? By the way, I hate the overuse of "no way", but it seemed right in the previous sentence. I would like to suggest that contributors to postings identify any particular contribution they might be responding to. For instance, I agree with Barbara Rochester's submission (12/12/07) about indenting address lines on envelopes. How on earth did that convention ever start? I'm glad to see the back of it. The funny thing about "used to" is that it cannot be used in the present tense. I mean that you cannot say, "I use to walk to school everyday." Of course, you can say, "I use string to tie parcels." but that's a different usage(!)I think the use of "used to" to indicate a habitual action in the past (which has now ceased), is a very useful device. Other languages, such as French and Spanish, only have the imperfect tense to perform this function. This can sometimes lead to ambiguity in translation - I was walking to school, or I used to walk to school. Would you agree that "used" is an auxiliary verb when used in this way?

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To KK: Huh??? "I've grown accustomed of your face"? I think not! Your wife is nuts!

Is it correct to say "used to" or "used of" when you are referring to becoming accustomed to something, as in "I am getting used to your new hairstyle"? I always thought it was "used to," but my spouse says "used of," and it drives me crazy! Am I wrong? Are we both wrong? Please help!!! Thanks, GG! I appreciate the clarity of your explanations.

Barrett in Nantucket was asking about whether is was "use to" or "used to", and of course GG's answer was spot on. But there was another aspect that wasn't explicitly discussed, the pronunciation. It is normal for "used to" to be pronounced "yousstoo", rather than "youzd to". Mignon herself took pains to say "youzd too", but when she said the words spontaneously, she used the standard "yousstoo". And oddly, when it's not that "nostalgic" expression, we DO say "youzd to", as in "pens are used to write".

According to The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, no apostrophes are used to pluralize figures ("The custom began in the 1920s" or "There are five size 7s"). In the case of single letters, an apostrophe is used ("Mind your p's and q's") but with multiple letters, no apostrophe is used ("She knows her ABCs"). Admittedly, the most recent edition that I own is from 1987 so maybe things have changed in the last 20 years. I still think it's an excellent reference.

It may depend upon how old one is....I learned to use the apostrophe 55 years ago, and it is as hard to let it go as it was 20 years ago to stop indenting the address lines on an envelope!

"The American Heritage® Book of English Usage" also notes that the trend is toward making abbreviations plural by adding only an "s" unless confusion would ensue without an apostrophe. http://www.bartleby.com/64/81.html

Using apostrophes to form plurals for initialisms and years is becoming less standard. Personally, I am overjoyed and have advocated the simple plural "s" unless it's ambiguous, such as "a's" and "I's".

John, I was unable to edit your post, and the URL was messing up the page, so I had to delete it and have copied it here. This is the original post from John with an abbreviated URL: Here is an online source for The Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language by Tom McArthur, 1998. This is from the entry for "apostrophe": Although this practice is rare in 20c standard usage, the apostrophe of plurality continues in at least five areas: (1) With abbreviations such as V.I.P.'s or VIP's, although forms such as VIPs are now widespread. (2) With letters of the alphabet, as in His i's are just like his a's and Dot your i's and cross your t's. In the phrase do's and don'ts, the apostrophe of plurality occurs in the first word but not the second, which has the apostrophe of omission: by and large, the use of two apostrophes close together (as in don't's) is avoided. (3) In decade dates, such as the 1980's, although such apostrophe-free forms as the 1980s are widespread, as are such truncations as the '80s, the form the '80's being unlikely. (4) In family names, especially if they end in -s, as in keeping up with the Jones's, as opposed to the Joneses, a form that is also common. http://tinyurl.com/29ubz7

John, you're correct that people should write, "This looks different than it used to." It would sound preposterous to write, "This looks different from it used to," although the choice between "from" and "than" isn't necessarily based on whether it is a clause that follows because you could also write, "This looks different from HOW it used to look."

John, my "Oxford Companion to the English Language" is currently packed away, so I can't confirm what you've written. In the previous episode, I said that using an apostrophe to make an acronym plural is a style issue, but the vast majority of publications do not use an apostrophe. If I remember correctly, "The New York Times " cited strong public sentiment as the reason for changing their style and dropping the apostrophe. I wouldn't consider using the apostrophe blatantly wrong, but I couldn't say that it is standard. "CDs" is standard; "CD's" is unusual. I don't doubt you that the "OCEL" says it is standard, but I'm wondering if you have a very old version or if there is a difference between American and British English. (I believe the "OCEL" reflects British usage.) Nevertheless, I appreciate your contributions to the discussion here.

It seems like John should create his own website since he has so many comments that are contrary to Grammar Girl's.

According to the Oxford Companion to the English language, using the apostrophe as a plural marker for acronyms (as in CD's) is standard.

So glad someone brought up the question of making acronyms plural. I get tired of telling people it's wrong to insert an apostrophe when making anything at all plural! Thanks, Grammar Girl. I have added your web address to my personal blog so everyone can go there and hear you.

We usually use "different than" when followed by a clause: This looks different than it used to.