Grammar Used To

OBPG unit 138 FP.
qxd
15/08/05
13:48
Page 42
20

Used to
Gram to g mar
EE fr FR
o!
om
1 We can use the Present Simple to talk about

present situations or habits: situations: My sister works as a translator. Andrew lives in London. habits: Peter usually wears jeans. I often eat a sandwich for lunch. Mike doesnt smoke anymore. Does John drive to work every day?
We use used to to talk about a past situation or habit that continued for months or years, and to emphasize that the situation today is different: Jill doesnt live in Ireland now. Nowadays people usually buy bread from a shop. My husband doesnt work at home now. Compare the Past Simple and used to:
2 Look at these sentences with the Past Simple:
situation: Henry lived in France for many years. habit: When I was young, I ran three miles every day.
Past Simple: When he was young, he ran three miles every day. (He may or may not run three miles every day now.) used to: When I was young, I used to run three miles every day. I dont do that now. (I dont run three miles every day now.)
The verbs are in the Past Simple and the sentences are about past situations or habits.
3 Look at these sentences with used to:

Jill used to live in Ireland. Many people used to make their own bread. My husband used to work at home.
We make negative sentences and questions with did + use to: Sue didnt use to like black coffee. Paul didnt use to smoke a pipe. Did Alan use to cycle to school? Did your parents use to read to you?
4 We do not use use to for present situations

or habits; we use the Present Simple: Ann sings in a band. (not Ann uses to sing in a band.) Joe doesnt cycle to school. (not doesnt use to cycle)
Practice
A Look at this table of people who have changed what they eat or drink.
name Ann Tom Robert Pam Mary Susan in the past meat coffee white bread tap water tinned fruit margarine now fish tea brown bread bottled water fresh fruit butter
Now make sentences, as in the examples.

1 2 3 4
Ann used to eat Tom drinks tea Robert Pam Mary Susan
meat, but now she eats fish . he used to drink now, but coffee. white bread, but now brown bread. tap water, but now bottled water. fresh fruit now, but tinned fruit. butter now, but margarine.
PAGE 42 TENSES: PAST
Oxford Practice Grammar Basic
PHOTOCOPIABLE Oxford University Press
2008
OBPG unit 138 FP.qxd
15/08/05
13:48
Page 43
Now complete these questions.
Gram to g mar
EE fr FR
o!
om
Did Ann use to eat meat? 5 white bread? 6 tinned fruit? 7 tap water?
~ ~ ~ ~
Yes Yes Yes Yes
she did, but now she eats fish. he did, but now he eats brown bread. she did, but now she eats fresh fruit. she did, but now she drinks bottled water.
Now complete these sentences.

Ann didnt use to eat fish, but she does now. Tom drinks tea now, but he didnt use to drink it. 8 Susan butter, but she does now. 9 Mary eats fresh fruit now, but she 10 Pam drinks bottled water now, but she
it. it.
B Cross out all the sentences which are incorrect, as in the example.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
When he was at primary school, Tony used to work very hard. Last year Peter used to get a new bicycle for Christmas. I didnt use to watch TV much, but I do now. When he was a teenager, my father used to buy all the Beatles records. Paul used to go the cinema almost every weekend. Did Pamela used to go to the concert last night? Paul used to be really fit when he played a lot of volleyball. John use to spend a lot of money on that new jacket he bought last week. Kate didnt use to come to school yesterday because she was sick. Jane used to play tennis a lot, but she doesnt have time now. Did you use to go to the seaside for holidays when you were a child? We used to live in Canada before we came here.
C Complete the sentences to say what these people used to do and what they do now,
as in the example.
Andrew/get up/seven oclock/now/half past seven Andrew used to get up at seven oclock, but now he gets up at half past seven. I/swim/before work/now/after work I used to swim before work, but now I swim after work.
1 Dan/play/violin/now/guitar 2 Anna/be/best friends/Angela/now/Cathy 3 Susan/have/dancing lessons/now/riding lessons 4 I/buy cassettes/now/CDs 5 John and Jean/live/London/now/Cardiff 6 David/drive/Fiesta/now/Jaguar
TENSES: PAST PAGE 43
Oxford Practice Grammar Basic
PHOTOCOPIABLE Oxford University Press
2008

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OBPG unit 138 FP.

1 We can use the Present Simple to talk about

2 Look at these sentences with the Past Simple:

3 Look at these sentences with used to:

4 We do not use use to for present situations

Now make sentences, as in the examples.

PAGE 42 TENSES: PAST

Oxford Practice Grammar Basic

PHOTOCOPIABLE Oxford University Press

OBPG unit 138 FP.qxd

Now complete these questions.

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Now complete these sentences.

TENSES: PAST PAGE 43

Oxford Practice Grammar Basic

PHOTOCOPIABLE Oxford University Press

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