Used to:meaning and form
We useused towhen we refer to things in the past which are no longer true. It can refer to repeated actions or to a state or situation:
Heused toplay football for the local team, but he’s too old now.
That white house over thereused tobelong to my family.(It belonged to my family in the past, but not any more.)
In statements, the formused todoes not change. We do not use the verbbebefore it. It always refers to past time:
Weused togo to the seaside every summer when I was a kid.
Not:We are used to go… orWe use to go… orWe were used to go…
Negative:didn’t use to
The negative ofused tois most commonlydidn’t use(d) to. Sometimes we write it with a final-d, sometimes not. Both forms are common, but many people consider the form with the final-dto be incorrect, and you should not use it in exams:
Itdidn’t use tobe so crowded in the shops as it is nowadays.
Ididn’t used tolike broccoli when I was younger, but I love it now.(Don’t use this form in exams.)
In very formal styles, we can use the negative formused not to:
Sheusednottolive as poorly as she does now.
Questions
The most common form of question is auxiliarydid + use(d) to. Many people consider the form with a final-dto be incorrect, and you should not use it in exams:
I think we met once, a couple of years ago.Didyouuseto work with Kevin Harris?
Didn’tsheusedto live in the same street as us?(Don’t use this form in written exams.)
Emphaticdid
We can use the emphatic auxiliarydidwithused to:
We never used to mix very much with the neighbours, but wedid used tosay hello to them in the street.(Don’t use this form in written exams.)
Tags
We normally make tagsafterused towith auxiliarydid:
He used to be your boss,did he?
We used to love going to the museum,didn’t we?
Used toorwould?
We can useused toorwouldto talk about people’s habits in the past. When we use them both together,used tomost commonly comes first, as it sets the scene for the actions being reported:
When we were kids, weused toinvent amazing games. Wewouldimagine we were the government and wewouldmake crazy laws that everyone had to obey.
Used to, but notwould, can describe a state or situation which is no longer true:
Weused tolive in Manchester.
Not:We would live in Manchester.
‘The Townhouse’used tobe a Greek restaurant. It’s Italian now.
Not:‘The Townhouse’ would be a Greek restaurant…
Used toorbe used to?
Used torefers to actions and situations in the past which no longer happen or are no longer true. It always refers to the past:
Sheused tosing in a choir, but she gave it up.(She sang, but she doesn’t sing any more)
Be used tomeans ‘be accustomed to’ or ‘be familiar with’. It can refer to the past, present or future. We followbe used towith a noun phrase, a pronoun or the-ingform of a verb:
I work in a hospital, so I’musedtolong hours.(I am accustomed to/familiar with long hours.)
She lives in a very small village and hates traffic. She’snotused toit.
He was a salesman, so hewas used totravelling up and down the country.(He was accustomed to/was familiar with travelling.)
We can also sayget used toor (more formally)become used to:
University is very different from school, but don’t worry. You’ll soongetusedtoit.(or, more formally,You’ll soon become used to it.)
See also:
Usually
Would
Tags