Hello fellow Steemeans!
This is the second issue of the series Grammar tips for the non native English speaking people here on Steemit! The use of ‘used to (do)’ is a subject that can be quite tricky. But, after reading the tips I brought for you today you will become a pro and boost the quality of your writing for the blogs you will be posting here in the future!
Joanne doesn´t go out much these days. She prefers to stay at home.
However, she used to go out a lot. She used to party two or three times a week!
She used to go out a lot = she went out partying regularly in the past, but she doesn´t do this anymore.
- I used to play the piano a lot, but I don´t play very often now.
- Nina used to spend a lot of money on clothes. These days she cannot afford it.
- Do you go to the cinema much? Not nowadays, but I used to when I lived in London.
- This building used to be the post office.
- I used to think Mark was unfriendly, but now I realise he is a very nice person.
- I´ve started drinking green tea recently. I never used to like it before.
- Mona used to have very long hair when she was a child.
“I used to do something” is the past. There is no present form. It is not correct to say “I use to do”. To talk about the present, use the present simple.
Compare:
| Past | Present |
|---|---|
| He used to dance | He dances |
| We used to live | We live |
| There used to be | There is |
- We used to live in a small village, but now we live in London.
- There used to be four museums in this town. Now there is only one.
Easy! The question form is did (you) use to ...?
- Did you use to eat a lot of sweets when you were a child?
- The negative form is didn´t use to.... (used not to... is also possible):
- I didn´t use to read the newspaper. (or, I used not to read the newspaper).
Words to the very wise! 😊
Do not confuse I used to do and I am used to doing. The structures and meaning are different.
- I used to live alone. (= I lived alone in the past, but I no longer live alone).
- I am used to living alone. (= I live alone, and I don´t find it strange or difficult because I´ve been living alone for some time).
Steem on & thanks for reading.
[Original content by Abigail Dantes 2017]
great post! @abigail-dantes ! we educators should stick together :) I teach English (mainly to adults), I share lesson plans, language tips and other stuff, so check out my channel! following you tooooo
Thank you @cwbrooch - Yes! Let's stick together :)))
I had a look at you blog and really liked the lesson plan you posted on the past simple!
I will be posting more little tutorials like this untill the end of August.
I will keep my fingers crossed for you for the competition! :))
Best!
Check this one:
good resource for us if you teach kids, teens, adults :)
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cwbrooch/how-2-teach-more-creatively-using-various-sources-discovery-education
Amazing! I loved the activities, specially the enconded sentences. The website looks incredible. Thank you for sharing it with us. Your students are very lucky! 😊
"I'm used to thinking about how I used to think."
Now does that imply that I no longer think? Or that the way I think now is very different? :p
😅 I am going to go for the latter!
I think it's fine just as it is - "I'm used to thinking about how I used to think." You are used to reminiscing. Whether you think the same way now or not, is not implied by the sentence.
'I'm used to thinking about how I used to think, but I think differently now.' Implies a change.
Aha! lol Thanks. It's funny, we all talk a certain way, but then when I have to write, sometimes I'll stare at my sentence for minutes, wondering if it's grammatically correct.
Past and present tense also catches out a lot of native English speakers, more than they would like to admit :) especially the, 'Did you use to ...' example. Excellent little tutorial.
Oohhh thanks @shelbi! 😀❤️
Congratulations @abigail-dantes! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPThank you :)))
Very Informative Read more https://steemit.com/english/@arifexpert/free-english-spoken-course