Exercise 1
Find and correct the mistake in each sentence.
a When I was a child, I didn’t used to believe in Father Christmas.
b Would you have long hair when you were younger?
c Did you used to watch a lot of TV?
d I usedn’t to like classical music but I love it now.
e Are you getting used to live in the city now you’ve moved?
f We’d often to go to look for shells on the beach.
g Do you use to play any sports when you were at school?
h My brother used to frightening me with horrible spiders.
i Francis would always know he’d be famous one day.
j Don’t worry about the noise, I used to it.
Exercise 2
Choose the best option.
When I was a boy, I a used to be/was being crazy about football. I b would want/wanted to go to every match – in fact I even started my own football team. I c would be/was the captain, of course, and my friend, Harry, was the goalie because he was taller than I was. We d didn’t/wouldn’t have many players but there were a few. Harry e use to/used to believe that one day we’d both be professional football players but of course that never happened.
Exercise 3
Choose the correct option, A or B.
a ………………….. have blonde hair?
A Didn’t you use to B Are you used to
b When I was a teenager, I ………………….. watch TV all the time.
A was used to B used to
c Pete soon ………………….. travelling between home and work.
A got used to B used to
d ………………….. living in the country after living in New York?
A Did you use to B Are you getting used to
e As a child, she ………………….. dream of living in a castle.
A would B is used to
f l ………………….. getting up early so I didn’t mind starting work at seven.
A used to B was used to
g We ………………….. eat fish but now we have it two or three times a week.
A weren’t used to B never used to
h Dad ………………….. get a lot of headaches. Now he doesn’t.
A was used to B used to
i Do you think we ………………….. living in London?
A ‘II get used to B used to
j The child ren ………………….. often play hide-and-seek in the woods.
A got used to B would
k My sister ………………….. be a teacher. Now she’s a painter.
A got used to B used to
Answers
Read the note to find out why.
1
a used use -> B
b Would you Did you/Did you use to -> F
c used use -> C
d usedn’t to didn’t use to/used not to -> B
e live living -> H
f to go go -> E
g Do did -> C, D
h frightening frighten -> A
i would … know used to know/(always) knew -> F
j used am used -> A
2
a used to be -> D
b wanted -> F
c was -> F
d didn’t -> F
e used to -> A
3
a A b B c A d B
e A f B g B h B
i A j B k B
Notes
A
Form the affirmative of used to with subject + used to + base form of the verb.
B
Form the negative of used to with subject + didn’t use to + base form. You can also use subject + used not to or never used to + base form of the verb.
C
Form the interrogative of used to with did + subject + use to + base form of the verb.
D
Use used to for things that happened in the past but don’t happen now.
E
Use would + base form of the verb. Don’t use the infinitive or an –ing form.
F
Use would for past repeated actions or habits. Don’t use would with state verbs.
G
Use be used to + noun or –ing form to say that someone or something is familiar to you.
H
Use get used to + noun or –ing form to say that someone or something is becoming familiar to you.
Review
Used to, would, be used to, get used to
Used to
– You form the affirmative of used to with subject + used to + base form of the verb. Don’t use the infinitive or an –ing form.
We used to live in Brussels.
NOT We used to to live in Brussels.
We used to living in Brussels.
– You form the negative with subject + didn’t use to + base form of the verb. You can also use subject + used not to or never used to + base verb. Don’t use usedn’t to.
I didn’t use to like coffee. OR I used not to like/I never used to like coffee.
NOT I usedn’t to like coffee.
– You form the interrogative with did + subject + use to + base form of the verb.
Did you use to have long hair?
– You use used to for things that happened in the past but don’t happen now.
I used to smoke. Pete used to play the piano.
(But I don’t now.) (But he doesn’t any more.)
Would
– You use would + base form of the verb. Don’t use the infinitive or an –ing form.
The children would collect stones and shells on the beach every summer.
NOT The children would to collect… The children would collecting…
– You use would for past repeated actions or habits. Don’t use would with state verbs. Use the past simple or used to instead.
I would often go to see my old history teacher.
NOT I would have long hair… We would know each other well…
Be/get used to
– You use be used to to say that someone or something is familiar to you. You can use be used to in the present and the past. Use a noun or an –ing form after be used to.
I’m used to getting up early in the morning. (I do it often.)
I was used to working long hours in my last job. (I often worked long hours.)
– You use get used to to say that someone or something is becoming familiar to you. You can use get used to with all tenses. Use a noun or an –ing form after get used to.
