{"id":21043,"date":"2025-03-20T15:23:28","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T15:23:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/?p=21043"},"modified":"2026-03-25T11:11:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T11:11:52","slug":"how-to-use-used-to-in-english-talking-about-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/blog\/english\/how-to-use-used-to-in-english-talking-about-the-past\/","title":{"rendered":"How to use ‘Used to’ in English: Talking about the past"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Whether it was the things we did as children, the subjects we studied at school or even just a short-lived hobby, we continue to find ourselves talking about the things we ‘used to do<\/strong>‘.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

When using English, we apply ‘used to’ when talking about events in the past which we no longer continue to do in the present. A helpful way of learning ‘used to’, is to consider it as a ‘fixed expression’ and not a tense. A basic formula for constructing this language is listed below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Subject + ‘used to’ + Infinitive + Object<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

He used to play tennis<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now let’s consider the following examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) I used to play soccer when I was in high school
2) I used to take the bus to work but now I prefer to cycle<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sentence 1)<\/em> shows us that we can use ‘used to’ before a reference of time (when I was in high school<\/em>). This is a good example of language which describes the past. We know that at this moment in time that the speaker is no longer in school, which suggests he ‘gave up’ playing soccer<\/em> after leaving or graduating. A similar example might be, ‘She used to smoke when she was a teenager’<\/em>. In this sentence, the past auxiliary in was a teenager <\/em>tells us the woman could be in her early 20’s, 30’s or even 40’s!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sentence 2)<\/em> provides us with information about a worker who used to take the bus<\/em>. Following the object in this example, we see a linking word, ‘but’<\/strong>, which emphasizes the second part of the sentence. Other linking words might include those such as ‘however’ or ‘although’. Notice that in this second sentence, the main verb ‘prefer’ is used in the present tense. This indicates that at this moment in time, the person likes to cycle<\/em> to work and no longer chooses to use the bus. A similar example to sentence 2)<\/em> might be, ‘He used to like chocolate chip cookies, however, as an adult he prefers oatmeal and raisin’<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

When forming a question about the past or the things we may have done in our childhood, the question form ‘did’ is inserted in front of the ‘subject’. Additionally, we take out the final ‘d’ when spelling the fixed expression, ‘used to’<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

3) Did you use to own a cat?
4) Did you use to play with lego as a child?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

There we have it. A basic introduction to using a style of language which tells others about our past. Get started today and ask your fellow classmates, what they ‘used to do?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Want to say be able to say “‘I didn’t used to speak English”? Learn English Abroad with EC<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Try a free online lesson with EC Live<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Live online English classes for continuous learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
try it for free<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether it was the things we did as children, the subjects we studied at school or even just a short-lived<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":12184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_trash_the_other_posts":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"acf":{"post_subtitle":"","related_posts":""},"yoast_head":"\nHow to Use 'Used To' in English: Talking About the Past<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to use \u2018used to\u2019 in English to talk about past habits and routines. 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