English conversation | 3 tips on using ’used to’ | Speak English confidently

'used to do' or 'be used to doing'.

What's the difference?

Hello and welcome everyone. This is Minoo at Anglo-Link.

In today's lesson, we're going to look at the expression 'used to',

which I find many of my students use incorrectly. 

We will start with three tips, and we will end with an error correction exercise.

That's the really important part, so don't miss that.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to use this expression

more confidently when you speak. 

A quick reminder to download my free guide

on how to speak more fluently and confidently through doing  listening activities.

You will find the download link in the description box.

So, let's get started with the lesson,

starting with Tip number 1.

So, Tip number 1 is to use 'used to' only for a habit or a fact in the past,

for example...

here we have a habit in the past: I used to run on Sundays.

When you say this,

you mean that you don't run on Sundays anymore.

It's over.

A fact in the past: She used to live in the countryside.

When you hear this,

it means that she doesn't live in the countryside anymore.

It's over.

Now, a couple of quick grammar points

when you use 'used to'

is that it's a fixed expression.

So, it doesn't change with the pronoun. 

Whether it's 'I' or 'she' or 'he' or 'we',

it's 'used to'. No change.

And after 'used to', we use the base verb,

the infinitive without 'to'.

So 'I used to run.'

'She used to live in the countryside.'

So, that's how you use 'used to'.

A common mistake that I hear my students make  

is using this expression 'used to' without the 'd'. 

So, 'use to' for a habit or a fact in the present. 

For example...

I hear sentences like:

Now, I use to run on Fridays.

Or: Now she uses to live in a city.

You must avoid this!

This expression does not exist in the present.

You can never say things like this. 

So, I suppose you're asking yourself:

How do we express a habit or a fact in the present?

Is there another expression?

Maybe there's a tense you can use to express a habit or a fact in the present?

What do you think?

I hope your answer was that there is a tense,

which is the Present Simple tense:

Now I run on Fridays.

Now she lives in a city.

So, let's look at the correct sentences

because we need to add an 's' to the second sentence.

Here we are:

Habit or fact in the present:

Present Simple tense:

Now, I run on Fridays.

Now, she lives in a city.

Now, when it's a habit, 

something that you do regularly,

you can add the adverb 'usually' to your sentence.

So you can say:

Now, I run on Fridays.

Or: Now I usually run on Fridays. 

So, Tip 2 is about a spelling mistake.

Remember our sentence was 'I used to run on Sundays.'

Now, we want to make this sentence negative or question.

It's an expression in the past, so we use 'didn't' and 'did'.

One thing you need to do to avoid this spelling mistake

is to drop the 'd',

like you would do with any other past tense:

I didn't use to run on Sundays.

And: Did she use to live in the countryside?

Okay! That's the end of Tip 2, short one.

Let's look at our Tip number 3, a very important one!

Tip number 3 is that the expression

'used' to and be 'used to'

these two expressions are completely different.

They're different in their idea,

and they're different in their grammar.

So reminder: 

'used to' refers to a habit or fact in the past.

'be used to' means to 'be okay with',

to 'be comfortable with', 'not mind'.  

For example...

when you say: I am used to spicy food.

you're saying: I'm okay with spicy food.

I'm comfortable eating spicy food. 

When I eat spicy food, I don't experience any problems.

That's the idea of 'be used to'. 

So, let's look at the grammar of this expression.  

Here, the main thing is the verb 'be'.

'be used to'.

So, that's what gets conjugated.

I am used to...

She is used to...

We are used to...

If you want to make it negative, you just add 'not'

because it's the verb 'to be'.

I am not used to...

You can put it in any tense you want. 

You conjugate the verb to be in another tense:

She was used to... 

You can say: I will be used to...

I will get used to...

So, that's for the grammar.

Now, a very common mistake still related to grammar

is this: 

saying: I am used to eat spicy food.

So, what has happened here is that we are using

this expression followed by a verb.

If you do that, you need to use NOT the base verb

but the gerund form:

I am used to eating spicy food.

So, let's end the lesson with a quick summary of the three tips.

Tip 1:  

Do not use 'used to' for present habits and facts.

Tip number 2:

Write 'use to'. Drop the 'd' after 'did' and 'didn't' when you make negative and questions.

And, Tip number 3:  

Remember that 'used to' and 'be used to'

are completely different, both in meaning and structure.

Okay!

It's time now for our error correction exercises.

I have four sentences for you with a mistake in them,

and I'd like you to correct them.

So, let's look at the first sentence.

The sentence is:

Nowadays, we use to eat fish twice a week.

What's wrong with this sentence?  

So, obviously 'nowadays', we're talking about a habit  in the present.

So what did we say?

We cannot use this expression for a habit in the present.

What must we do? 

Just use the Present Simple tense:

Nowadays, we eat fish twice a week.

So, let's look at the correct sentence:

Nowadays, we eat fish twice a week.

But, because it's a habit,

you can add the expression, the adverb, the frequency adverb  

'usually' to your sentence as well,

if you want:

We usually eat fish twice a week.

Okay! let's look at sentence number 2:

She didn't used to work here.

What's wrong with this sentence?

Correct it.

I'm sure you got this one.  

We are using the sentence in the negative with 'didn't'.

Therefore, there should be no 'd' here.

Let's look at the correct sentence: 

She didn't use to work here.

Okay!

Let's look at sentence number 3:

I'm not used to wake up early. 

There's a mistake.

How should we correct this?

I'm sure you got this one as well.

We're using the expression 'I'm not used to'.

So, it's the expression 'be used to',

and therefore this must not be in the base verb form,

but in the.....

gerund form:

I'm not used to waking up early.  

And finally,

sentence number 4:  

In the nineties, he used to working as an accountant. 

What do you think is wrong here?

Okay! I hope you found that as well.

In the 90s,

a fact in the past:

'used to'.  

Correct!

The expression 'used to',

but the mistake is using the gerund here.

After the expression 'used to',

we use the base verb.

So, that's the correct sentence:

In the nineties, he used to work as an accountant.

Okay! That's the end of the lesson. 

For more practice, check out my other lesson on 'used to',

or visit my website

Anglo-Link.com.

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Thanks for watching, and goodbye for now.