Study the rules, look at the examples, then do the exercises.
We often want to say that something was true in the past but is not true any more. Maybe you had a habit and you stopped it, or a place was different years ago. English has a special structure for exactly this idea: used to.
Here is the core idea in one line: used to + base verb describes a past habit or a past state that is finished now. When you hear "used to", you know two things at once: it was true before, and it is not true today.
The form is wonderfully simple. The subject never changes anything: it is always used to (with a d) plus the base verb (V1), for every person — I, you, he, she, we, they.
| Subject | used to | base verb | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / you / we / they | used to | live | We used to live in a village. |
| he / she / it | used to | have | She used to have long hair. |
This is the most important spelling point in the whole unit. In the negative and the question, we use did / didn't. Because did already shows the past, the d of used drops off — we write use to, not "used to".
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Positive | used to + V1 | I used to walk to school. |
| Negative | didn't use to + V1 | I didn't use to like coffee. |
| Question | Did + subject + use to + V1? | Did you use to play football? |
| Short answer | Yes, I did. / No, I didn't. | "Did she use to dance?" "Yes, she did." |
This is where students make the biggest error. Used to is only for repeated habits or long states. For a single, finished action (something that happened once), you must use the Past Simple.
| Idea | used to | Past Simple |
|---|---|---|
| Repeated habit over time | I used to visit my grandparents every summer. | I visited them every summer. (also possible) |
| One single action (once) | ✗ not used | Last week I visited them. |
| Long past state | She used to live in Paris. | She lived in Paris for ten years. |
Careful: be used to and get used to look similar but mean something completely different. They mean be / become accustomed to — something feels normal because you do it often. The form is be/get used to + noun or -ing, NOT the base verb.
| Structure | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| used to + V1 | past habit, now finished | I used to get up late. (before, not now) |
| be used to + -ing | accustomed to (it feels normal) | I am used to getting up early. (no problem now) |
| get used to + -ing | becoming accustomed to | I am getting used to the new job. |
These are the errors B1 students make most often with "used to". Check your own writing against this list.
| Wrong ✗ | Right ✓ | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| Did you used to live here? | Did you use to live here? | after "did", the d drops: use to. |
| I didn't used to like tea. | I didn't use to like tea. | after "didn't", the d drops: use to. |
| Yesterday I used to meet an old friend. | Yesterday I met an old friend. | a single event → Past Simple, not used to. |
| She used to has a red car. | She used to have a red car. | always the base verb after used to. |
| I am used to get up early now. | I am used to getting up early now. | be used to + -ing, not the base verb. |
Two old friends meet after many years and talk about how their town has changed. Read it twice and notice how they use "used to" for the past and the Past Simple for single events.
Choose the correct answer. — 10 questions, each one is marked instantly. Questions get harder as you go.
Learn the words, then use them in your own sentences about your childhood.
Write 8 sentences about your childhood and how life used to be. Use at least 8 of the words above.
Sentence starters (you can begin with these):
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will review your task.)
Read the text, then answer the questions.
Good readers prepare before they start. Before you read, think about these three questions (you do not need to write the answers):
Words to spot (from the Speaking section): childhood · memory · neighbourhood · tradition · generation · change · get used to
My grandmother, Ayşe, is eighty years old, and she loves telling me how life used to be when she was young. 'The world was completely different,' she always says. 'We didn't use to have televisions, computers or mobile phones. In the evenings, the whole family used to sit together and tell stories.'
When I ask her for more details, her eyes light up. She tells me that people used to make their own entertainment, because there was nothing else to do. 'We didn't use to have any screens,' she laughs, 'so we used to sing songs, play simple games and listen to the older people.' In the long winter evenings, the neighbours often used to visit each other's houses. They used to sit around the fire, drink tea and share the news of the day. Nobody used to lock their doors, because everyone trusted the family next door. My grandmother says this is the thing she misses most. 'Today people have hundreds of friends on their phones,' she tells me, 'but they don't really know their own street. We used to know everything about everybody, and that felt safe.'
Ayşe grew up in a small village near the mountains. There used to be only about twenty houses, and everybody knew each other. 'We used to walk to school for an hour every morning,' she remembers, 'and in winter the roads used to freeze. But we were happy.' Life was hard in many ways. Her family did not have running water, so the children used to carry water from a well.
Life in the village followed the seasons. In spring, the whole family used to work in the fields from early morning until the sun went down, and the children used to help too. My grandmother still remembers feeding the chickens before school. 'We didn't use to buy much from shops,' she says. 'We used to grow our own vegetables and keep a few animals.' Once a week, on market day, her father used to take the horse and cart to the nearest town to sell eggs and cheese. It was a long, slow journey, but it used to be the most exciting day of the week for the children. There used to be a big old tree in the centre of the village, and in summer everyone used to gather under it in the evening to talk. The women used to bake bread in a shared oven, and the warm smell used to fill the whole street. My grandmother did not use to think of this life as difficult; for her, it was simply normal.
Things started to change when Ayşe was a teenager. In 1965, the village got electricity for the first time. 'I will never forget that night,' she says. 'Suddenly the streets were full of light.' A few years later, the first road was built, and buses began to come to the village.
After the electricity arrived, everything began to change quickly. At first, only a few families used to own a radio, and the neighbours used to come and listen to it together. A few years later, the first television appeared in the village, and my grandmother still remembers how strange it felt. 'We used to stand outside the window of the one house that had a TV,' she says, 'just to watch the moving pictures.' Slowly, the old ways started to disappear. People stopped carrying water from the well, because every house finally got a tap. Young people did not use to leave the village before, but now the new road made it easy to travel to the city for work and study. Some of these changes were wonderful, but my grandmother admits that the village also lost something. 'It became much quieter,' she says. 'Many families moved away, and the streets that used to be full of children slowly became empty.'
Ayşe moved to the city when she got married, and at first she did not like it. She was not used to the noise and the crowds. However, she slowly got used to city life, and now she loves it. 'I used to miss the village every day,' she admits, 'but the city has become my home.'
The first years in the city were not easy for her. She was not used to the traffic, the tall buildings or the fast pace of everyday life. In the village she used to know all her neighbours, but in the city nobody used to say hello in the street. 'I used to feel very lonely,' she remembers. Little by little, however, she made new friends and found a job that she enjoyed. She got used to taking the bus, shopping in big markets and living far away from the green fields. She even started to like things that she never used to understand, like going to the theatre and sitting in busy cafés. 'The city taught me that people can change,' she says with a smile. 'When you are young, you think life will always stay the same, but it never does.'
My grandmother often compares her generation with mine. 'You didn't use to walk anywhere,' she teases me, 'and I didn't use to sit still for a single minute!' She thinks young people today are very lucky, but also a little too busy. 'You have machines for everything now,' she says, 'so you don't have time to be bored, and being bored used to make us creative.' I think she is right. We are used to having answers in a few seconds, but she grew up learning to wait, to make things by hand and to solve her own problems.
Today, Ayşe still keeps some old traditions from her childhood. 'Every generation forgets a little,' she says, 'so I am glad my grandchildren can hear these old stories.'
Now, when my grandmother visits us, she still cooks the old recipes and tells the same stories again and again. My little brother sometimes gets bored, but I love listening to her. I did not use to understand why the past was so important to her, but now I do. Every time she says 'we used to...', she is giving us a small piece of a world that has almost disappeared. One day, I will tell these same stories to my own children. I want them to know that their family used to live in a tiny village near the mountains, where people had very little but shared everything they had. Life has changed a great deal since then, and it will keep changing — but some memories, I hope, will never be lost.
Choose the correct answer.
Are these sentences true or false, according to the text?
Complete each sentence with ONE word from the text. Mind the form (used to / be used to / get used to).
Write your answer in your own words. These questions are not marked automatically.
1. How was daily life hard for Ayşe's family in the village?
2. How did Ayşe feel about the city at first, and how does she feel now?
3. Why do you think Ayşe is glad her grandchildren can hear her old stories?
Find these connectors in the text — each one appears at least once: and, but, so, when, however. (You will use these same connectors in the Writing section.) Note them down, then check.
Todd and Rachael remember how things were different when they were children.
You will hear two friends, Todd and Rachael, talking about things that used to be normal when they were children — but that are strange or even illegal today. You will listen TWICE. First listen: answer questions 1-5. Second listen: answer questions 6-10. (Kaydı İKİ kez dinleyeceksin: ilk dinlemede 1-5, ikinci dinlemede 6-10.)
Write and submit your paragraph; your teacher will review it.
A list of short, separate sentences is not real writing. What connects your ideas is linking words. At A2 you used and, but, so, because. At B1 you add four more powerful connectors: also, when, while, although and however. These let you compare the past and the present like a confident writer.
| Connector | Use it to... | Example |
|---|---|---|
| and | add information | We used to play outside, and we knew all our neighbours. |
| but | show a small contrast | Life was simple, but we were happy. |
| so | show a result | We had no phones, so we talked more. |
| because | give a reason | I loved summers because we used to visit my grandparents. |
| also | add an extra point | Our town used to be small. It also used to be very quiet. |
| when | say at what past time | When I was a child, we used to walk to school. |
| while | two things at the same time | While my parents worked, I used to stay with my grandmother. |
| although | show a strong contrast | Although we had little money, we did not use to worry. |
| however | contrast between two sentences | I did not use to like the city. However, I got used to it. |
See the difference — the same facts, written two ways:
| Separate sentences ✗ | Connected, fluent writing ✓ |
|---|---|
| I used to live in a village. It was small. We had no cars. We used to walk everywhere. I moved to the city. I like it now. | I used to live in a small village, and we had no cars, so we used to walk everywhere. When I moved to the city, I did not like it. However, I got used to it, and now I love it. |
A "how life used to be" paragraph has three parts. The skeleton stays the same every time — you change the content, not the structure:
| Part | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Opening | A general topic sentence with "used to" | Life used to be very different when I was a child. |
| 2. Body | Old habits and states with "used to" and "didn't use to", plus one single event in the Past Simple, linked with connectors. | We used to play outside all day. One summer, I fell and broke my arm. |
| 3. Closing | A comment about now, using "nowadays" or "get used to" | Nowadays life is faster, but I am used to it now. |
Write about how your life, your town or the world used to be different in the past. Use "used to" a lot, and mix in the Past Simple for single events.
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will evaluate your writing.)
Mixed questions from the whole unit, then check what you can do.
14 questions: grammar + vocabulary + reading + listening. Each question is marked instantly.
Tick what you can do now. Honest answers help your teacher.
İşaretlemediğin madde varsa ilgili bölüme dönüp tekrar çalış — soldaki menüden her bölüme geri dönebilirsin.
Oturum kontrol ediliyor...