used to / would / be used to

Rules

• Rule 1: used to + verb

  used to + base verb talks about past habits and states that are no longer true. It's the same for every subject.

  Pattern: subject + used to + verb

  Example: My mom used to play the violin.

  Example: There used to be a lake near our village.

• Rule 2: Negatives and questions → use to

  did already shows the past, so drop the d: didn't use to, Did … use to …?

  Pattern: didn't use to + verb · Did + subject + use to + verb?

  Example: I didn't use to like cheese.

  Example: Did you use to watch cartoons in the morning?

• Rule 3: would for repeated past actions

  would + verb describes repeated actions in the past, often in memories. It is not used with state verbs (be, have, like, know, live) – use used to for those.

  Pattern: subject + would + action verb

  Example: Every winter, we would build a snowman in the yard.

  Example: I used to have a hamster.

• Rule 4: be used to / get used to

  be used to + -ing / noun means to be familiar with something. get used to means to become familiar with it.

  Pattern: be used to + -ing / noun · get used to + -ing / noun

  Example: Pilots are used to flying at night.

  Example: You'll soon get used to the new schedule.

Common mistakes

• I didn't used to eat fish. → I didn't use to eat fish.

  After didn't, drop the d. (You may see *didn't used to*, but the standard spelling is didn't use to.)

• She is used to get up early. → She is used to getting up early.

  be used to + -ing.

• When I was small, I would have a teddy bear. → When I was small, I used to have a teddy bear.

  have is a state verb → used to.