‘Used To’, ‘To Get Used To’ and ‘To Be Used To’

The first thing that is important to know is that the phrase ‘Used To’ is actually very different from the other two phrases we’re going to study (‘Get/Be’ Used To).

Used to is a verb. But it’s a unique verb because it only exists in the past tense! Used to should not be confused with the verb to use which means to utilise.

We say used to when we want to talk about past habits or repeated actions in the past (that don’t happen anymore). We always follow used to with the infinitive of the main verb

For example, if you lived in London as a child but now you live somewhere else you can say:

I used to live in London when I was a child.

If, in the past, you and some friends went to the cinema every weekend but now you don’t, you can say:

My friends and I used to go to the cinema every weekend. 

If, in the past, your sister managed a bookshop but now she has a different job, you can say:

My sister used to be the manager of a bookshop. 

In the question and negative forms of used to we ‘drop’ the letter ‘d’. For example:

Did you use to smoke?
Did she use to work in the library?

I didn’t use to eat so many potatoes.
We didn’t use to live in the city.