We use used to + infinitive (V1/be) to talk about a past situation that is no longer true at present. It tells us that there was a repeated action or state in the past which has changed at the time of speaking.
Notice the use of used to in the following text.
I was a young girl in the 1960s. My friends and I used to
do a lot of things which shocked our parents. We used to do things our
mothers never did. We used to cut our hair, we used to wear short
skirts. We used to sing songs but did not use to dance.
The following structure help you to better understand the use of used to
|
Structure |
Sentence |
|
Sub + used to + V1…….. |
She used to dance as a child. |
|
Sub + didn’t use
to + V1….. |
She did not use
to dance as a child. |
|
Did + Sub + use
to + V1…. |
Did she use
to dance as a child. |
Now, rewrite the following sentences using ‘used to’.
You can make an affirmative/negative statement or a question.
a. I/live in a flat when I was a child.
→
I used to live in a flat when I was a child.
b. She/love eating chocolate but now she hates it.
→
She used to love eating chocolate but now she hates it
c. He/go to fishing in the summer?
→
Did
he use
to go
to fishing in the summer?
d. My sister/play tennis when she was at school.
→
My sister used to play tennis when she was at school.
e. He/play football every weekend?
→
Did
he use to football every weekend?
f. My grandfather/speak five languages.
→
My grandfather used
to speak five languages.
g. I/not hate school from the beginning.
→
I did not use to
hate school from the beginning.
h. You/live in Kathmandu?
→
Did
you use to You live in Kathmandu?
i. He/play Dandibiyo when he was a small child.
→
Hep used to play Dandibiyo when he was a small child.
j. She/wear a frock when she was small but nowadays she wears
jeans.
→ She used to wear a frock when she was small but nowadays she wears jeans.