How to Use “Used to”

How to Use “Used to” in English (Past Habits and Past States + PDF Worksheet)

Hello English learners! Welcome to a new lesson. How to use “used to”

When we talk about the past in English, we sometimes want to describe things that were true before but are no longer true now. For this, English has a very useful structure: 

used to + infinitive

We use used to to talk about past habits, past routines and past states (situations, feelings, jobs, places, etc.) that do not exist anymore.

Form

used to + base form of the verb

• I used to live in London.
• She used to work in a hospital.
• We used to go there every summer.

Meaning: something was true before, but not now.

• I used to play a lot of football when I was younger. Now I go to the gym.
• They used to be good friends, but now they hardly ever meet.
• My grandpa used to be a mayor before he retired.
• This street used to look very different.

If you use used to, you are saying: “This was true in the past, but it is not true anymore.”

Negative form

didn’t use to + base verb (NOT didn’t used to)

• I didn’t use to drink coffee, but now I do.
• My hometown didn’t use to be so polluted.
• She didn’t use to like spicy food.

Question form

Did + subject + use to + base verb?

• Did you use to collect stamps when you were younger?
• Did they use to walk every evening while on holiday?
• Did you use to get up early when you were a child?

What “used to” is NOT for

We do NOT use used to to talk about how many times or how long something happened.

❌ Incorrect:

• I used to visit Rome many times.
• I used to live in this neighbourhood for 10 years.

✅ Correct:

• I visited Rome many times.
• I lived in this neighbourhood for 10 years.

Used to is about change, not about number or duration.

Used to vs Past Simple

Compare:

I lived in Paris for five years. → just a fact about the past

I used to live in Paris. → suggests: I don’t live there now

Used to vs Would (for past habits)

We can also use would to talk about repeated actions in the past:

When we were children, our grandma would read us stories every evening.

We can also say:

When we were children, our grandma used to read us stories every evening.

But there is an important difference:

Would = only for actions

Used to = for actions AND states

Compare:

Our grandma would read us stories. ✅ (action)

She used to be very strict. ✅ (state)

❌ She would be very strict. (wrong or very limited meaning)

More examples:

We used to live in a small village. ✅ (state)

❌ We would live in a small village. (wrong)

Quick summary

Final thoughts

Use used to when you want to talk about how life was different before. It’s a very common and very natural structure in both speaking and writing — and it appears often in B1–B2 and Cambridge exams.

If you master used to, you’ll be able to talk about memories, childhood, changes in life, and the past much more naturally.

Download the exercise about “used to” in PDF here

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