• june@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    12
    ·
    7 months ago

    I used to be queer. I still am but I used to be too.

    Mitchhedberg.gif

    • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      7 months ago

      I’m sorry, English isn’t my first language. Is that a typical way to say about a state (e.g. being queer) which has begun in the past and still present?

      • june@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        7 months ago

        No worries!

        Contextually, saying ‘was’ is inclusive of the past and present. But to your credit, saying ‘I am’ would have been more precise.

        My quote is a line from a famous comedian, Mitch Hedberg, who was doing a bit about drugs when he said ‘he used to do drugs’, paused, and then said ‘I still do but I used to too’. It’s a play to subvert expectations because when someone says they ‘used to do something’ they usually mean that they don’t anymore.