29 used to

Woman: I didn’t use to like spiders until I met Kevin. I used to be really scared of them. I used to scream
and run away if I saw one.
Reporter: Kevin, did you use to be scared of spiders too?
Man: No, I’ve always loved them. I used to keep them in a box under my bed when I was a kid.

Presentation
Use used to to talk about... • when you say how long a single action or situation
• past habitual actions (things that happened regularly lasted:
in the past): / used to scream and run away. Say We lived in France fo r three years, (don’t say We used
The past habitual action may or may not still be true in to live in France fo r three years.)
the present. Affirmative and negative
No longer true: I used to run away from spiders, now I
I/Y o u /H e /S h e / used to keep spiders,
keep them as pets.
It/W e /T h ey didn’t use to like spiders.
Still true: I used to scream when I saw a spider when I
was a child, and I still do. Questions
• situations and states that are no longer true: I used to Where did I / you / he /
keep the
hate spiders but I d on t mind them now. she / it / we / use to
spiders?
they
You only use used to to talk about the past. You cannot
use it to talk about the present. Did I / you/ he /
be scared of
she / it / we / use lo
Say I don t usually do any work at the weekend. spiders?
they
(don’t say I don t use to do any work at the weekend.)
You can also use the past simple to talk about past Short answers
habits and situations: Yes, I / you / he / No, I/you /
I kept spiders as pets. (I used to keep spiders as pets.) she / it / we / did. he / she /
didn’t.
they it / we /
You do not use used to to talk about... they
• a specific time or action in the past:
QQ Be careful with the question and negative forms:
Say I got up at six this morning, (don’t say I used to get up there is no -d in use to:
at six this morning.)
Did you use to have pets when you were in school? (not
• the number of times something happened in total: Did you used to ...?)
Say We went to the zoo three times last year, (don’t say I didn’t use to like dogs when I was younger, (not I didn't
to the zoo three times last year.) used t o ...)

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IELTSMatters.com
 Exercises
1 Choose the correct form.

1
oomm
When I was a kid, 1 1 used to / didn't use to think there were monsters under my bed. I never2 used to / didn’t

2
.c.c
use to go to sleep until my mum had looked under the bed.
1 3 used to / didn’t use to like dogs. Our neighbours had a big black dog that always4 used to / didn’t use to

rss
bark at me whenever I went near it. 1 5 used to / didn’t use to cross the road to get away from it.

r
1 6 used to / didn’t use to like visiting my great aunt. She7 used to / didn’t use to have any toys for us to play

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with and she never8 used to / didn't use to let us watch TV.

2 0 E E J Complete the conversation using the correct form of used to and short answers.
Then listen and check.
A: 1
B: Yes, w e2 aa
(you have) any pets when you were young?
. We always3 (have) animals in the

A: 4

SMM
house: cats and dogs, and sometimes birds and fish too.

S
(you help) to look after them?
B: Yes, my dad said that we could only have pets if we promised to look after them.

3
We 5

L TT
after the birds very much. She 7

L
(take) it in turns. My sister6

Rewrite the sentences using used to where possible.

IIEE
1 My brother kept snakes when he was younger. My bvptUev used to keep
2 He got his first snake when he was eight.
3 He kept them in a box in the garage.
4 He looked after them very well.
5 They lived there for almost six years.
6 Then he lost interest and he took them all to the local zoo.
7 He visited them there once a week.
8 I think he went about nine or ten times before he forgot about them.

4 Write about three things that used to be true for you when you were younger.
1 I used to
2 I didn’t use to
3 I always used to

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