Used to (do)

Past Habits and Repeated Actions

Used to + verb talks about things you did often in the past but don’t do any more.

• Our sales team used to travel a lot, but they do most meetings online now.
• I used to spend a lot of time on admin work. These days we have software for that.
• “Do you go to the office every day?” “Not now, but I used to.”

Think of it as a bridge between a past habit and the present reality:

Past (used to)	Now
She used to travel for work three times a month.	She works from home.
He used to spend an hour commuting.	He walks to the office in ten minutes.

Past States That Changed

Used to also works for things that were true but are not true any more. These are not repeated actions — they are states or situations.

• This floor is now open-plan. It used to be separate offices.
• I used to think the new system was confusing, but now I find it easy.
• She used to have a corner office when she was a director.
• I never used to like spreadsheets, but I’ve got used to them.

No Present Form

Used to is only past. There is no present form “use to.”

To talk about the present, use the present simple.

Past	Present
We used to work in a small office.	We work in the main building now.
There used to be a coffee machine on this floor.	There is a vending machine now.
He used to play on the company football team.	He plays tennis instead.

Questions and Negatives

The question form is did … use to:

• Did you use to work late when you started the job?
• Did they use to have team lunches on Fridays?

The negative form is didn’t use to (or, less common, used not to):

• I didn’t use to like public speaking. (or I used not to like public speaking.)
• We didn’t use to have weekly stand-ups.

Form	Structure	Example
Positive	subject + used to + verb	She used to manage a bigger team.
Negative	subject + didn’t use to + verb	I didn’t use to check email before 9 a.m.
Question	did + subject + use to + verb	*Did you use to report to the same manager?*

Used to Do vs. Was Doing

Don’t mix up used to do (a past habit or regular action) with was doing (an action in progress at one moment).

• I used to check my email first thing every morning. (= I did this often in the past, not any more)
• I was checking my email when the fire alarm went off. (= I was in the middle of checking)

Used to Do vs. Be Used to Doing

These two structures look similar but mean different things.

Structure	Meaning	Example
used to + base verb	past habit, no longer true	I used to work alone.
be used to + -ing	something is normal for you now	I am used to working alone.

• I used to work from home. = I worked from home in the past, but I don’t any more.
• I am used to working from home. = I work from home and it feels normal to me because I’ve done it for some time.

Quick Self-Check