/ ˈjuːst tə; NAmE ; before vowels and finally ˈjuːst tu/ modal verb
( negative didn't use to / -juːs; NAmE /, BrE also, old-fashioned or formal used not to short form usedn't to / ˈjuːsnt tə; NAmE ; before vowels and finally ˈjuːsnt tu/) 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?
➡ note at modal
••
WHICH WORD
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.
••
GRAMMAR
used to
Except in negatives and questions, the correct form is used to :
I used to go there every Saturday.
• I use to go there every Saturday.
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.