🕰️ Used To: A Complete Guide

✅ 1. Form

A. Affirmative

Structure: Subject + used to + base verb

Use this form to describe past habits or states that no longer happen or exist.

• I used to play football every weekend.
• She used to live in London.

B. Negative

Structure: Subject + did not / didn’t + use to + base verb

Notice that in the negative form, we drop the “d” from “used” and write use to because of the auxiliary verb “did.”

• I didn’t use to eat vegetables.
• He did not use to watch horror movies.

C. Questions

Structure: Did + subject + use to + base verb?

• Did you use to go swimming every day?
• Did they use to play outside a lot?

🧠 2. Meaning and Use

Used to is used to describe habits, repeated actions, or states that were true in the past but are not true anymore.

🔹 A. Past Habits or Repeated Actions

Use "used to" to talk about something you did regularly in the past but no longer do.

• I used to walk to school every day.
• They used to travel every summer.

🔹 B. Past States

"Used to" can also describe a past state or condition.

• She used to be very shy.
• We used to live in a small village.

⏰ 3. Time Expressions Often Used

"Used to" usually comes with past time references, though the time is often understood from the context.

• When I was a child
• Back in the day
• In my teenage years
• Many years ago

Example: When I was a child, I used to climb trees all the time.

⚠️ 4. Common Mistakes

• ❌ He didn’t used to like coffee.
  ✅ He didn’t use to like coffee.
• ❌ Did you used to go there?
  ✅ Did you use to go there?
• Do not confuse used to with be used to (which means "accustomed to").

Example: I’m used to waking up early now. ✅ (This means I am now accustomed to it.)

🧩 5. More Example Sentences

Affirmative

• My father used to smoke, but he quit five years ago.
• We used to visit our grandparents every weekend.

Negative

• I didn’t use to enjoy classical music.
• She did not use to cook very often.

Questions

• Did you use to play the piano?
• Did your brother use to work here?

🧠 6. Tips to Remember

• Use used to for past habits that no longer happen.
• In negatives and questions, use use to (without "d") after "did".
• "Used to" is always followed by the base form of the verb.
• Don’t confuse it with "be used to" which means to be familiar with something.