used to

Universal Words modal verb (negative didn't use to ) used to say that sth happened continuously or frequently during a period in the past: I used to live in London. * We used to go sailing on the lake in summer. * I didn't use to like him much when we were at school. * You used to see a lot of her, didn't you? -< MODAL ______________________________ WHICHWORD? used to / be used to Do not confuse used to do sth with be used to sth. You use used to do sth to talk about something that happened regularly or was the case in the past, but is not now: I used to smoke, but I gave up a couple of years ago. You use be used to sth/to doing sth to talk about something that you are familiar with so that it no longer seems new or strange to you: We're used to the noise from the traffic now. * I'm used to getting up early. You can also use get used to sth: Don't worry - you'll soon get used to his sense of humour. * I didn't think I could ever get used to living in a big city after living in the country. ______________________________ ______________________________ GRAMMARPOINT used to Except in negatives and questions, the correct form is used to: I used to go there every Saturday. * _I_ _u_s_e_ _t_o_ _g_o_ _t_h_e_r_e_ _e_v_e_r_y_ _S_a_t_u_r_d_a_y. To form questions, use did: Did she use to have long hair? Note that the correct spelling is use to, not 'used to'. The negative form is usually didn't use to, but in BrE this is quite informal and is not usually used in writing. The negative form used not to (rather formal) and the question form used you to...? (old-fashioned and very formal) are only used in BrE, usually in writing. ______________________________