Unit 18 Used to (do)

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.

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 very nice person. I’ve started drinking coffee recentl. I never used to like it before. Janet used to have very long hair when she was a child.

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.

He used to smoke, he smokes, we used to live, we live, there used to be, there is.

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)