Английский для поступающих в вузы
Краткий англо-русский разговорник
Confusing words
Упражнения по переводу с русского на английский
Тексты с параллельным переводом
Essays
The 'zero' article : :
Indefinite articles : :
Definite articles : : Questions with like : :
Question tags : :
Time prepositions : :
Reported Speech : : Simple passive : :
Continuous passive : : Because and because of : :
To, for, so that : :
'-ed' and '-ing' adjectives : :
Need + verb-ing : :
Have something done : :
Must : :
Have to / don't have to : :
Used to : :
Wish + Past Perfect : :
used to do
be used to doing
used to do something = did something regularly in the past but not any more
be used to doing something = be in the habit of doing something.
Used to / to be used to smth.
to be used to smth. => быть привычным к чему-либо:I am used to getting up early. => Я привыкла рано вставать.
Are they used to hard work / working hard? => Они привычны к работе?
You'll soon get used to this weather. => Ты быстро привыкнешь к такой погоде.
... used to do smth. — обозначает регулярное, часто повторяющееся действие в прошедшем времени:
Не used to come here every day when he was a little boy. => Мальчиком он, бывало, приходил сюда каждый день.
... used to be => раньше был:
Smith used to be a teacher. => Смит раньше был учителем.
Used to / didn't use to
When talking about things that we did in the past but don't do now we can use the expression used to. The negative form, to talk about things which we didn't do in the past but do now, is didn't use to.
| Positive sentences | I used to smoke 20 cigarettes a day. I used to eat loads of junk food. |
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| Negative sentences | I didn't use to do any exercise. I didn't use to swim very well. |
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| All pronouns take used to / didn't use to |
I You She He It We They |
used to / didn't use to | eat a lot of sweets. eat meat. live in the city. have long hair. |
Used to [ju:st tə] and didn't use[ju:z] to are only used to talk about past habits. There is no present form. To talk about present habits we can use the present simple. When using these structures there are often two parts to the sentence, something about the past and something about the present, for example:
I used to drive to work but now I go by car.
I didn't use to like coffee but I love it now.
'I used to ski, but now I snowboard.'
'Used to' for past habits
We use 'used to' to talk about past events which we no longer do. We only use it to talk about the past; there is no similar expression for the present.
'I studied French, but I don’t anymore.' → 'I used to study French.'
'In the past I smoked, but I don't now.' → 'I used to smoke.'
Note: after 'used' to we alway use the infinitive. Never use a continuous or past tense verb:
'I used to smoke.'
'I used to smoking.'
'I used to smoked.'
Asking questions using 'use to'
We usually use 'did' when we ask about past habits.
The typical question form is:
'Did you use to watch Mickey Mouse?'
'Did you use to like school?'
Note: 'Use to' is used in the question form not 'used to'.
Answering 'use to' questions
'Use to' questions can be answered in a couple of ways. Take a look at the follwing question and response:
'Did you use to wear a school uniform?'
'Yes, I used to wear a horrible uniform!'
(or in negative sentences)
'I didn't use to wear a uniform'. or 'I used not to...'
Using 'would' instead of 'used to'
We use 'would' when we want to talk about how often a past habit happenened. It can have the same meaning as 'used to'. For example:
'I used to go swimming twice a week.'→ ' I would go swimming twice a week.'
Note: Both of these sentences have the same meaning.
We can use 'would' instead of 'used to' when a time is mentioned:
'When I was young, I used to visit my grandmother every summmer.'→ ' When I was young, I would visit my grandmother every summer.'
Note: Both of these sentences have the same meaning.
If the sentence is not about a repeating habit/action, or does not include a time expression, we can not use 'would':
'I used to play piano.'→'I would play piano.'
It is more natural to say:
'I used to play piano. I would practise every day.'