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 (see Unit 6):
* 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 ---
