Unit 17: The Digital Revolution

'Used to' for past habits

Used to
Meaning and use
We use the phrase used to when we want to talk about something we did regularly in the
past, but we dont do now. We also use it to talk about a past fact which is no longer true.
I used to work at a restaurant, but now I work at a library.
Shari didnt use to take the bus to school, but now she does.
NOT: I used to eat some cake last Saturday night. (Saturday night was just one time, so it
was not something done regularly.)

Used to can help us to compare activities in the past and now.

I used to work at a restaurant in the past, and now I work at a library.
When we say used to, we do not do something now.
I used to work at a restaurant. I quit that job, and then got a new job at a library.

Form
The different forms of this phrase are used to or did/did not/didnt + use to.
Used to is used in positive sentences. Use to is used in negative and question forms.
Positive
Alan used to wear his hat every day until he left it on the bus.
My aunt used to have a dog called Charlie.
Negative
Marsha didnt use to enjoy skiing, but now she loves it.
I was surprised that you didnt use to live in Shanghai.

Question
Which road did you use to take to the village before they built the new one?
Did Martin use to have a flat in this building?
Negative question
Didnt Paula use to study French?
Didnt William use to work at night?

Take note: adverbs

Used to already means that something happened regularly in the past. You dont need to add
adverbs most of the time. However, if you want to stress a time period, you can add an
adverb.
John didnt use to go shopping often, but now he does.
We used tovisit Mexico yearly, but lately, weve been going to Chile.

Spoken English
In conversation, used to is sometimes pronounced as /just/. And you dont say the d and t
as separate sounds.
In fact, it is nearly impossible to hear the difference between used to and use to. Even if you
cant hear it, you can still pronounce this phrase correctly by saying /ju zd t/ for both use
to and used to. However, when you are writing, it is important to write the correct form.
Remember, if there is a did or didnt in the phrase, write use to. Otherwise, writeused to.

6 Minute Vocabulary

flashmob (noun)
a crowd of people who gather together quickly and suddenly, often organised through social
media
selfie (noun)
a photo that you take of yourself, normally on a mobile phone

photobomb (verb/noun)
to suddenly put yourself into someone else's photograph; the act of doing this
weatherbomb (noun)
a short period of extreme weather
thoughtbomb (noun)
a group session where people think together; brainstorm
troll (noun/verb)
person who behaves badly online - for example, someone who posts negative, insulting
comments on social media; to do this

6 Minute Vocabulary
New words
Rob
heres Iris, talking about a photograph she took.
Catherine
is Iris happy with her photo?

Iris
So heres a selfie from a flashmob I went to theres everyone dancing and stuff, and thats
my idiot boyfriend at the back: he decided to photobomb me! Its quite funny though I put it
on my social networks but the trolls said we looked stupid! I dont care though, I like it.

Rob
she said she liked the photo.
Catherine
Now there were a few words there which are quite new in English. Lets have a look at some
of them. Listen again to Iris. Two questions this time. One: what type of photo did she take
and two: where was she?
So this is a selfie from a flashmob I went to
Catherine
Iris took a selfie, and she was at a flashmob. Lets take those words one at a time.

Rob
A very popular word now, selfie. Thats a photograph you take of yourself, by holding your
camera or phone out in front of you at arms length.
Catherine
But where does the word selfie come from? Well the word self-portrait has been around for
a long time. It means a picture you draw or paint of yourself. So selfie probably comes from
that.
Rob
And thats one way words come into English. Get an old word, change it to fit a new situation
and youve got a new word like selfie. And thats one reason why we need new words to
talk about new situations, like all these self-portraits that everyones taking.
Catherine
Now another way to make a new word for a new situation is to get two old words and put
them together. Iris was at a flashmob. Now, a flashmob is a crowd of people who gather
together quickly and suddenly its often organised through social media. Now the
word flash can mean something that happens very quickly, and a mob is a crowd of people.
So when you put them together, youve got the perfect new word for the situation.
Rob
Anyway, youve probably noticed that these words are mostly made by people on social
media. Its not the only place that new words come from, but a lot of new words are coming
from social media at the moment.
Catherine
Next example. Iriss boyfriend jumped into her selfie at the last minute. Hes actually in the
photo even though she wasn't expecting him to be! And heres the word for it:
and thats my idiot boyfriend at the back: he decided to photobomb me!
Rob
So: photobomb. Thats a new word made from two old words: photo, obviously, and bomb,
the thing that suddenly explodes. And weve got similar new words like weatherbomb
Catherine
Thats a sudden period of extreme weather, and then theres thoughtbomb where people get
together and, basically think!
Rob
Yes, thats a new word for what we used to call brainstorm...?

Catherine
It is, yes. Very similar. Well now, Iris used another new word to describe people who post
horrible comments on social media. Listen carefully to this:
I put it on my social networks but the trolls said we looked stupid!
Rob
A person who posts negative comments on social media is called a troll. And troll is actually
an old word for an imaginary creature a kind of monster. You find lots of trolls in old
Scandinavian stories and the words been around in English for a long time.
Catherine
So an old word, with a new meaning but theres a link there to the original meaning isnt
there Rob?
Rob
because both kinds of troll are quite ugly in their own way either in their looks or behaviour.
Catherine
its quiz time! Question one: whats the word for a group of people who gather together
suddenly, and its normally organised on social media?
Rob
Any ideas? The word is flashmob. Question two: what word means: jump into someone
elses photograph?
Catherine
Thats photobomb. Finally, whats the word for people who write nasty, negative comments
online?
Rob
They are trolls. OK, well done if you got those right at home.
Catherine
And now heres a vocabulary tip. To keep your English right up-to-date, join some social
media groups where people use English. Social media is a great place to pick up words and
expressions that are in use, even though theyre not in the dictionary.

It used to take ages to learn these things!

Talking about change
Lets look at some examples carefully. Pay attention to the verb form:

Alice It used to take months for a letter to reach the other side of the world. Now I
can message or email and they receive it instantly.
Amith I used to enjoy going to the library.We used to be able to disconnect.
Now its all about sharing your daily life on social network.
When Alice and Amith say used to, are they talking about past, present, or future time. What
do you think?
Of course, they are referring to the past. But what does used to mean exactly?
Well, to help you understand, take a little time to ask yourself these questions:
When Amith says I used to enjoy going to the library, is he talking about something he did
once? Or is it something he did regularly?
When Alice says it used to take months for a letter to reach the other side of the world, do
we know exactly when? Or is she referring to an unspecified period of time?
In both examples, are these things that still happen now? Or are they things from the past that
no longer happen or are no longer true?
In Amiths example, he is talking about something he did on a regular basis in the past.
He used to enjoy going to the library. Perhaps he went every week or every month we
dont know exactly but we know he went there regularly. It was part of his routine. Does he
still go now? Maybe, but he doesnt enjoy it in the same way anymore. That has changed.
Lets look at some more examples:
I used to live in Egypt when I was a child. (I lived there at some point in my childhood
but I dont live there now).
My family and I used to go to the seaside every summer for a caravan holiday but we
always go on city breaks now. (At some time in the past, we went to the seaside in the
summer time and we did this for many years. However, now we go on a different kind
of holiday).
My husband used to smoke a packet of cigarettes a day! Thankfully, hes given up
now. (This was a past habit my husband had but he doesnt do this anymore).
I found an old photo of my mum the other day. I cant believe what huge glasses
she used to wear! (She had those glasses at some point in the past but she doesnt
use them anymore).
In Alices example, she is talking about something that used to be generally true. Not so long
ago, writing a letter was the main way to communicate with people far away and this was true
for people all over the world. It used to take months for letters to reach the other side of the

world. However, that is a thing of the past now. With email and instant messaging, we can
keep in touch with our friends and family easily wherever they are and this is also true all over
the world.
Lets look at some more general examples:
My grandmother always says people used to be more polite when she was younger
but I disagree.
Did you know that in the Middle Ages, most people used to think the Earth was flat?
Many children used to leave school before they were ten years old but now most
people stay at school until they are eighteen.
It used to snow a lot more when I was younger but winters are much milder now.

In summary, we can use used to to talk about:

A past routine or habit
A past state
A past truth or belief
In all of these cases, this has changed and is no longer happening/true in the present.
We form these sentences as follows:
Subject + used to + verb (bare infinitive)
What about negative forms? Take another look at this example from our debate:
Amith said: We didnt use to have to rely on our phones to remember our phone
numbers.
In this example, he is talking about something that was not true in the past but is true now
(personally, I used to know all my relatives and friends phone numbers when I was younger
I still do! but now, I have to use my phone to remember numbers, including my own!)
Here are some more examples:
I didnt use to own a car but now I have one. (In the past, I never had a car but that is
different now).
I didnt use to like broccoli at all! (I didnt like it in the past but now I do).
Computers didnt use to be so small or so fast! (Older computers were larger and
slower than todays machines).

Notice that after didnt, we use use to, not used to (the grammatical rule is the same as past
simple, for example we say I visited / I didnt visit) In spoken English, used to and use
to sound the same so listen carefully to whether the sentence is negative or positive!
To make that clear, this sentence is correct:
My dad didnt use to play golf he took it up when he retired.
but this one is wrong:
My dad didnt used to play golf he took it up when he retired.
We can also use never to give a negative meaning:
There never used to be a park here when I was a kid.
I never used to cook at home much but now I make my own meals all the time.
Notice that we use used to after never, not use to.
For questions, we use did + subject + use to...? Here are some examples:
Did you use to watch The A-Team when you were a kid?
Did people really use to think we would have flying cars in 2015?

'Used to' and the past simple

What's the difference?
Here are our first two examples:
I used to speak French very well when I was at school.
I spoke French when my friend from Paris came to visit.
Think about these things for both sentences: Can this person speak French now? (Yes, no, or
maybe) And was this action (speaking French) something that happened over a long time? Or
are we talking about a specific time?
Think about it a little more the answers are just below!
In the first sentence, the speaker could speak French when he/she was at school but has
forgotten a lot of it now. Also, this person must have taken French lessons for a long time to

speak very well. That means this is something that was true in the past but is not true now
so used to is preferred.
In the second sentence, the speaker is referring to a single occasion when he/she spoke
French. This may have happened recently and this person can probably still speak French
now. We use past simple here because this happened once and this person has (most likely)
not forgotten how to speak French since then.
Here are some more examples:
I used to like pop music when I was a teenager. (This was true in the past. I dont like
pop music now.)
I really liked that new song I heard on the radio this morning. (This refers to one song
and a specific time.)
Daniel used to drink a lot of coffee. (This was true at some point in the past. He has
either given up or he drinks less now).
Daniel drank a lot of coffee during the meeting. (In this sentence we are talking about
one occasion, a meeting).
My grandparents never used to own a car. (This was in the past but no time is given.
They do own a car now).
My grandparents didnt own a car until they were retired. (There is a specific time
mentioned through the phrase until they were retired.)
Did you use to make dinner? (We are asking if this was a regular habit in the past)
Did you make dinner? (We are asking if this person made dinner today).
However, in some cases there is little/no difference in meaning:
I used to live in a house with a huge garden before I came to London.
I lived in a house with a huge garden before I came to London.
In this case, both sentences can be used to talk about something that was true in the past but
is different now.

6 Minute Grammar
'Used to'

Catherine
let's start with some example sentences from Rob. What activities did these people do
regularly in the past?
Rob
Petra used to eat junk food, but now she eats salads and vegetables.
I used to play computer games, but now I read a lot.
Neil
Petra used to eat junk food and Rob used to play computer games. The words used to in
front of an infinitive verb, like used to eat or used to play tell us that someone did an activity
regularly, or several times, in the past. Now pronunciation-wise, we say used to with a short
/ju/ sound, used to, not a long /ju:/ like in 'Can I use your phone please?' It's not use, it's use.
Here they are together:
Rob
I used to use a desktop computer, but now I've got a tablet.
Catherine
And we can see from that example that we often use used to with a verb when the present
situation is different to the past - so in the past Rob had a desktop, but now he's got a tablet.
Neil
Now, used to with an infinitive means the activity happened regularly, or repeatedly, in the
past. It can also describe a past state or situation, for example: I used to live in Japan, but
now I live in London. But to say you did something just once in the past, use the past simple.
Catherine
the sentence I used to go to the gym on Saturdays means: I went to the gym on many
Saturdays in the past. But the sentence I went to the gym last Saturday describes one
event in the past, it's the past simple. To talk about what happens now, use a present tense.
Rob
I used to go running every day, but now I go running once a week.
Catherine
Let's take a look at negatives.
Rob
My sisters didn't use to talk to each other much but now they speak every day. Esra didn't
use to have short hair, but she had a hair cut last week.
Catherine
And the phrase didn't use to helps us talk about past states and activities that didn't happen

in the past, but they do now. And for all persons, it's subject plus didn't plus use to plus an
infinitive: My sisters didn't use to talk; Esra didn't use to have short hair. And there's a
spelling note here isn't there Neil?
Neil
Yes there is. In positive sentences, used is spelt u-s-e-d, but in negative sentences and
questions, it's just use: u-s-e, without the d at the end. But when we're speaking, they sound
almost exactly the same. Listen to this:
Rob
I didn't use to get up early at the weekend. I used to stay in bed all morning.
Catherine
Now, let's take a look at questions. Neil, which school did you use to go to?
Neil
I used to go to the local school.
Catherine
OK. So, for questions like which school did you use to go to, it's did plus subject plus use
to plus infinitive. And it's the same for yes/no questions. Neil, did you use to walk to school?
Neil
No, I didn't. I used to get the bus.
Catherine
So, for questions: did, subject, use to and infinitive. And remember, used to is spelt u-s-e;
no d.
Neil
it's time for a quiz. Question 1. How do you spell used in this sentence? I didn't use to have a
tablet.
Catherine
It's u-s-e without d because it's a negative.
Neil
Number 2. What's the missing word? I [BLANK] to use social media every day, but now I only
use it once a week.
Catherine
And the answer is used with a d. I used to use social media every day.
Neil
And number three. Is this sentence right or wrong? I used to go to the gym last Friday.

Catherine
And that's wrong, because it's a past event that happened only once. You can say I went to
the gym last Friday, or you can say I used to go to the gym every Friday.

Spelling tip
'Used to' or 'use to'?

Listen to these two sentences.

I used to write letters to my family.
I didnt use to email them.
Whats the difference? Well, one is positive and one is negative. But what about spelling?
Lets have a look.
I used to write letters to my family.
I didnt use to email them.
Well, in I used to write, used ends in ed because its a past form. In I didnt use to
email, use doesnt end in ed because we have the auxiliary didnt, which is already in the
past.
So, the reason why we sometimes say used to and at other times use to depends on if we
have an auxiliary verb or not.
I used to write letters to my family. This sentence is positive and the verb used is in the
past, so we write it with an ed ending.
I didnt use to email them. This sentence is in the past as well, but its negative. So that
means we dont end use with ed. The auxiliary didnt is already in the past.
Take note: formal usage
There is a time when you might see or hear used not to in a negative past form. I used not to
like him, but now we are best friends. But this is very formal usage, and you wont hear it
often in spoken English.
Take note: questions
It is the same for questions with used to.

Did
you
use
to
like
drinking
tea
when
you
Where did you use to go on holiday when you were at school?

were

child?