USED TO

José Camilo Campos Agudelo

English IV
Universidad Piloto de Colombia – Seccional del
alto magdalena
We use the modal verb "used to" to
indicate something that happened or
happened in the past on a regular basis.
EXAMPLES
 "Used to" Affirmative form
To use the verb "used to", simply put the subject or personal pronoun on which
the action falls, use the "used to" and then add the base form of the main verb in
the infinitive.
 • I used to practice ballet every wek
• Lilly used to visit her parents on saturday
• My father used to work here
• We used to hang out together
Examples • Andrea used to read a book per month
Affirmative Form • You used to call me everyday
• They used to arrive early
• I used to drive an old car
• My husband used to go fishing
• The kids used to play here
 In the case of negations, it is necessary to use
the auxiliary of the simple past, i.e. the past
form of the verb do: "did" and its negative
form "did". Remember that when using the
past auxiliary, it is no longer necessary for our
modal verb to be in the past tense, so we
convert it to the present: "use to".

"Used to"
Negative form
So, for negative sentences, the "use to" will be
preceded by the auxiliary "did not" and this in
turn will be preceded by the pronoun or subject
of the sentence, while in interrogative
sentences, it will be the auxiliary "Did" at the
beginning of the sentence, followed by the
pronoun or subject and, of course, the base
form of the main verb.
 Structure

Examples:

• She didn't use to travel to the country side all the weekends
• I didn't use to like the french food
• Sandra didn't use to listen The Beatles that much
• We didn't use to hang out together
• You didn't use to study hard for the exams
• They didn't use to like the animals
• I didn't use to save money for the future
 "Used to" Interrogative Form

We can also ask what someone used to or used to do in the past. For the
interrogative we use the auxiliary DID at the beginning of the sentence
followed by the subject.
 Examples
1. Will they get used to the new regulations? 
2. Where did he use to live?  
3. Did you use to dance every day? 
4. Are you used to cooking for large groups?  
5. Are you not used to using the seatbelt? 
6. Are you getting used to the new job? 
 Conclusion

It is of vital importance to point out that, whether it is an affirmative, negative

or interrogative sentence, the base form of the main infinitive verb (without
the "to") will never change; it will always be the same in all 3 cases. Thus, it
is the verb "used to" that will change and the auxiliary "did" will enter the
scene when necessary.
Video
 Activity
• https://www.curso-ingles.com/practicar/ejercicios/used-to