When we talk about things we did regularly in the past but don’t do anymore, we use ‘used to’. This structure is perfect for describing old habits, routines, and repeated actions that were part of our daily life before but have now stopped.Let’s look at some everyday situations:

• • I used to walk to school every morning (but now I take the bus)
  • My grandfather used to read the newspaper after breakfast (this was his daily routine)
  • We used to visit our grandparents every weekend (this was a regular family activity)

The key idea is that these activities happened repeatedly over a period of time in the past, and they are no longer happening now.

The structure is simple and stays the same for all subjects:Positive form: subject + used to + base verb

• • I used to exercise every morning
  • He used to work night shifts
  • They used to meet for coffee on Tuesdays

Negative form: subject + didn’t use to + base verb

• • I didn’t use to like vegetables
  • She didn’t use to drink coffee
  • We didn’t use to go out much

Question form: Did + subject + use to + base verb?

• • Did you use to play any sports?
  • Did they use to live in London?
  • Did she use to teach English?

Notice that in negatives and questions, we write ‘use to’ (without the ‘d’) because ‘did’ already shows the past tense.

We often use ‘used to’ with time expressions to describe when our past routines happened:Daily routines:

• • I used to get up at 5am every day when I was training for marathons
  • My father used to make breakfast for the family every morning
  • She used to take a long walk after dinner each evening

Weekly routines:

• • We used to have family dinners every Sunday
  • I used to go swimming twice a week
  • They used to play tennis every Saturday afternoon

Monthly or seasonal routines:

• • My family used to go camping every summer
  • I used to visit my aunt once a month
  • We used to celebrate the harvest festival every autumn

These time expressions help make it clear that the activity was a regular pattern in your past life.

‘Used to’ is very common when talking about old jobs, school days, or past work habits:Work routines:

• • I used to start work at 7am in my old job
  • She used to have meetings every Monday morning
  • We used to take our lunch break together
  • He used to travel to different cities for work every week

School and university routines:

• • I used to study in the library every afternoon
  • We used to have English class three times a week
  • She used to take the school bus at 7:30am
  • They used to eat lunch in the cafeteria together

These examples show how ‘used to’ helps us contrast our past regular activities with our current situation.

We frequently use ‘used to’ when reminiscing about past social habits and family traditions:Social routines:

• • My friends and I used to go to the cinema every Friday night
  • I used to call my best friend every evening
  • We used to meet at the same café every weekend
  • They used to organize parties once a month

Family routines:

• • My mother used to read me bedtime stories every night
  • We used to have breakfast together as a family
  • My grandmother used to bake cookies every weekend
  • Dad used to help me with my homework after dinner

These routines often carry emotional significance, as they represent important parts of our past that have changed.

You can add frequency adverbs and expressions to give more detail about how often the routine happened:With frequency adverbs:

• • I used to always arrive early for work
  • She used to often forget her keys
  • We used to usually eat out on Saturdays
  • He used to sometimes work late

With specific frequency expressions:

• • I used to go jogging three times a week
  • They used to visit us twice a month
  • She used to call her parents every single day
  • We used to have team meetings once a week

These combinations help paint a clearer picture of your past routine and how regular it was.

It’s important to understand when to use ‘used to’ versus other past tenses:‘Used to’ vs Simple Past:

• • ‘Used to’ emphasizes the routine/habit: ‘I used to walk to work’ (it was my regular habit)
  • Simple Past states a fact: ‘I walked to work yesterday’ (just one time)

‘Used to’ vs ‘Would’:

• • Both can describe past habits, but ‘used to’ is more common for routines: ‘I used to visit my grandparents every Sunday’
  • ‘Would’ is more literary and cannot describe past states: ‘I used to live in Paris’ (correct) / ‘I would live in Paris’ (incorrect)

‘Used to’ vs Past Continuous:

• • ‘Used to’ for completed past habits: ‘I used to smoke’ (I don’t smoke now)
  • Past Continuous for actions in progress: ‘I was smoking when he called’ (one specific moment)

Choose ‘used to’ when you want to emphasize that something was a regular pattern in the past that is no longer true.

To sound more natural when talking about past routines:1. Contrast past and present:
Often, we use ‘used to’ to show how things have changed. You can make this contrast explicit:

• • I used to drink a lot of coffee, but now I prefer tea
  • She used to work from home, but these days she goes to the office
  • We used to live in the countryside, but now we’re in the city

2. Use it in storytelling:
‘Used to’ is perfect for setting the scene when telling stories about the past:

• • When I was young, I used to spend every summer at the beach. My family used to rent the same house every year, and I used to play with the same group of friends.

3. Combine with other time expressions:

• • Back in 2010, I used to work in a restaurant
  • When I was a student, I used to stay up late studying
  • Before I had children, I used to travel a lot

4. Use in questions to show interest:
Asking about someone’s past routines is a great conversation topic:

• Did you use to play any musical instruments?
• Where did you use to go on holiday as a child?
• What time did you use to finish work in your previous job?