The phrase 'used to' is very useful when talking about the past. We use 'used to' to talk about things that happened regularly or routinely in the past. These sentences are formed using:
subject + 'used to' + present verb
We often use this phrase to talk about things that happened before but no longer happen today.
| Subject | used to | Verb | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I, You, He, She, It, We, You, They |
used to | play | piano every day, but I haven't practiced in years. |
Usually, we use the phrase 'used to' to make a comparison between the past and the present.
Here are some sentences using the phrase 'used to.'
I used to be much faster, but I can still play hockey!
I love broccoli now, but I used to hate it!
My sisters and I used to play basketball with the
Blueberries used to grow here, but Brett ate them all.
She used to have long hair, but she cut it off.
This wall used to be black, but then we painted it.