Page 48 - English Grammar in Use

Unit
18 used to (do)

A Study this example situation:
a few years ago Nicola doesn’t travel much these days.
She prefers to stay at home.
But she used to travel a lot.
She used to go away two or three times a year.
She used to travel a lot = she travelled often in the past, but

she doesn’t do this any more.

she used to travel she doesn’t
travel

these days past now

B I used to do something = I did it often in the past, but not any more:
I used to play tennis a lot, but I don’t play very much now.
David used to spend a lot of money on clothes. These days he can’t afford it.

‘Do you go to the cinema much?’ ‘Not now, but I used to.’ (= I used to go)
We also use used to … for things that were true, but are not true any more:
This building is now a furniture shop. It used to be a cinema.
I used to think Mark 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.

Lisa used to have very long hair when she was a child.

C ‘I used to do something’ is past. There is no present. You cannot say ‘I use to do’.
To talk about the present, we use the present simple (I do).
Compare:
past he used to play we used to live there used to be

present he plays we live there is
We used to live in a small village, but now we live in a city.
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? (= did you do this often?)
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 often in the past, but I don’t do this any more)

I was watching TV when Rob called. (= I was in the middle of watching TV)

F Do not confuse I used to do and I am used to doing (see Unit 61). 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 it’s not a problem for me because I’ve lived
alone for some time.)

Past continuous (I was doing) ➜ Unit 6 would (= used to) ➜ Unit 36
36 be/get used to (doing something) ➜ Unit 61