A. Study this example situation:
Dennis stopped smoking two years ago. He
doesn't smoke any more.
But he used to smoke.
He used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day.
'He used to smoke' = he smoked regularly for
some time in the past, but he doesn't smoke now. He was a smoker, but now he
isn't
B. 'Something used to happen' = something
happened regularly in the past but no longer happens:
* I used to play tennis a lot but I don't
play very often now.
* Diane used to travel a lot. These days she
doesn't go away so often.
* 'Do you go to the cinema very often?' 'Not
now, but I used to.' (= I used to go ...)
We also use used to... for something that was
true but is not true any more:
* This building is now a furniture shop. It
used to be a cinema.
* I used to think he was unfriendly but now I
realise he's a very nice person.
* I've started drinking coffee recently. I
never used to like it before.
* Janet used to have very long hair when she
was a child.
C. 'I used to do something' is past. There
is no present form. You cannot say 'I use to do'. To talk about the present,
use the present simple (I do).
Compare:
past: he used to smoke we used to live there used to be
present: he smokes we live
there is
* We used to live in a small village but now
we live in London.
* There used to be four cinemas in the town.
Now there is only one.
D. The normal question form is did (you)
use to ...?:
* Did you use to eat a lot of sweets when you
were a child?
The negative form is didn't use to ... (used
not to ... is also possible)
* I didn't use to like him. (or I used not to
like him.)
E. Compare I used to do and I was doing :
* I used to watch TV a lot. (= I watched TV
regularly in the past, but I no longer do this)
* I was watching TV when the phone rang. (= I
was in the middle of watching TV)
F. Do not confuse I used to do and I am
used to doing (see Unit 60). The structures and meanings are different:
* I used to live alone. (= I lived alone in
the past but I no longer live alone)
* I am used to living alone. (= I live alone
and I don't find it strange or new because I've been living alone for some
time)
EXERCISES
18.1 Complete these sentences with use(d) to
... + a suitable verb.
1. Dennis gave up smoking two years ago. He
used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day.
2. Liz --- a motorbike, but last year she
sold it and bought a car.
3. We came to live in Manchester a few years
ago. We --- in Nottingham.
4. I rarely cat ice cream now but I --- it
when I was a child.
5. Jim --- my best friend but we aren't
friends any longer.
6. It only takes me about 40 minutes to get
to work since the new road was opened. It --- more than an hour.
7. There --- a hotel opposite the station but
it closed a long time ago
8. When you lived in London, --- to the
theatre very often?
18.2 Brian changed his lifestyle. He stopped
doing some things and started doing other things:
He stopped studying hard/going to bed
early/running three miles e3very morning
He started smoking/going out in the
evening/spending a lot of money
Write sentences about Brian with used to and
didn't use to.
1. He used to smoke.
2. He didn't use to smoke.
3. ---
4. ---
5. ---
6. ---
18.3 Compare what Carol said five years ago
and what she says today:
FIVE YEARS A GO
I travel a lot,
I play the piano.
I'm very lazy.
I don't like cheese.
I've got a dog.
I'm a hotel receptionist.
I've got lots of friends.
I never read newspapers.
I don't drink tea.
I go to a lot of parties.
TODAY
I eat lots of cheese now.
I work very hard these days.
I don't know in people these days.
I work in a bookshop now.
I don't go away much these days.
My dog died two years ago.
I read a newspaper every day now.
I haven't been to a party for ages.
I haven't played piano for years.
Tea's great! I like it now.
Now write sentences about bow Carol has
changed. Use used to/didn't use to/never used to in the first part of your sentence.
1. She used to travel a lot but she doesn't go
away much these days.
2. She used --- but ---
3. --- but ---
4. --- but ---
5. --- but ---
6. --- but ---
7. --- but ---
8. --- but ---
9. --- but ---
10. --- but ---
