used to – English Grammar Exercises for A2

1. Rewrite the underline phrases. Use the correct forms of used to.

Twenty years ago, when I was a student, I use to live (1) …I used to live…… in a large house with five of my friends. We usedn’t to have (2) ………………… much money, so we didn’t used to go (3) ………………… out to restaurants or clubs in the evenings.

Instead, we use to invite (4) ………………… our friends to come to our house in the evenings. One of my friends, Sandro, was Italian and he use to cook (5) ………………… fantastic meals for us, such as pizza or pasta. After dinner we used watch (6) ………………… TV or listen to music together.

Another friend of mine, Jordi, used play (7) ………………… the guitar and teach us beautiful Spanish folk songs. Fortunately, our neighbours not used to complain (8) ………………… about the noise we made.

What about you? Used you to live (9) ………………… with a group of friends when you were at university, or you used to live (10) ………………… with your family?

2. Complete the sentences with the correct forms of used to and the verbs in brackets.

1   We …used to have…… (have) a dog, but it died five years ago.

2   Molly …………………… (buy) bread from the supermarket, but now she has to get it there because the baker’s closed last month.

3   What ……………… you ……………… (eat) for lunch when you were at school?

4   She …………………… (speak) German quite well, but she hasn’t been there for 10 years and so she’s forgotten most of it.

5   I …………………… (go) to work by bus every day, but now I usually cycle or walk.

6   ……………… you ……………… (play) with dolls when you were little?

7   My grandfather …………………… (have) a mobile phone until we bought him one for his birthday.

8   We …………………… (watch) black-and-white films at the cinema when I was young. We thought they were brilliant!

3. All of the sentences about the past are false. Change them so that they are true.

500 years ago …

1   People used to work in IT.   People didn’t use to work in IT.

2   People didn’t use to work on farms.

3   People used to live as long as they do now.

4   Children’s education used to be free.

5   Cities didn’t use to be smaller than today.

6   People didn’t use to travel by horse.

7   People used to use microwaves to cook food.

4. Rewrite the sentences. Change the underlined verbs from the past simple to used to.

1   I ate a lot of chocolate when I was younger.

     I used to eat a lot of chocolate when I was younger.

2   People wrote a lot of letters in the days before email.

3   Where did you live when you were a child?

4   She was a manager before the stopped working.

5   Did your parent read you stories when you were young?

6   I didn’t like vegetables when I was a child.

7   Were you a good student at school?

8   We weren’t as fit as we are today.

5. Look at the pictures of Mary and Jeff ten years ago and today. Write sentences about how they have changed. Use used to / didn’t use to and the words in brackets.

1   ……………………………… (Mary / have long hair)

2   ……………………………… (Jeff / be thinner)

3   ……………………………… (Jeff / wear suits)

4   ……………………………… (They / look after the garden)

5   ……………………………… (They / ride a motorbike)

6   ……………………………… (They / own a car)

6. Complete the sentences with used to and a verb in the box.

1   When I was a child I …………… to school every day.

2   When I was a teenager, my parents …………… I was lazy.

3   I …………… from allergies, but now I do.

4   People in my country …………… a lot of fast food, but they do now.

5   I …………… more time outdoors than I do now.

6   The health service in my country …………… better than it is now.

7. Complete the text with the correct form of used to and the verbs in the box.

Thirty years ago, we (1) ………… any big supermarkets in my town. There were some small shops and I (2) ………… everything there. I liked it because I always (3) ………… people I knew, so it was very friendly. But it wasn’t perfect – there (4) ………… a lot of different products. And the shops (5) ………… on Sunday or late in the evening, so I (6) ………… my week carefully.