:):):):):):):):)

,,,

Study this example situation:



Alaa stopped smoking two years ago. He doesn't smoke any more



But he used to smoke.

He used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day.



"He used to smoke" = he smoked regularly sometime in the past,

But he doesn't smoke now. He was a smoker,

But now he isn't.



Past = he used to smoke

Now = he doesn't smoke



"Something used to happen" = something happened regularly in the past

no longer happens:




* I used to play tennis a lot but I don't play very often now.



* Sara used to travel a lot. These days she doesn't go away so often

.

* "Do you go to cinema very often?"

"Not no, but I used to." (= I used to go….)





We also use used to… for something that was true but is not true anymore:



* This building is now a furniture shop. It used to be a cinema.



* I used to think he was unfriendly but now I realise he's a very nice person.



* I've started drinking coffee recently. I never used to like it before.




* Sara used to have very long hair when she was a child.



"I used to do something" is past. There is no present form.

You can't say "I use to do".

To talk about the present, use the present simple (I do).



Compare:



Past: he used to smoke, we used to live, there used to be

Present: he smokes, we live, there is



* We used to live in a small village but now live in Riyadh.



* There used to be four cinemas in town. Now there is only one.



The normal 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 like him. (or I used not to like him.)





Compare I used to do and I was doing:



* I used to watch TV a lot. (= I watched TV regularly in the past,

but I no longer do this)



* I was watching TV when the phone rang. (= I was in the middle

of watching TV)



Do not confuse I used to do and I am used to doing.

The structures and meanings 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 new because I've been living alone for sometime)