Sonny Kurniawan

Sonny Kurniawan

Class                           : 3C

NPM                           : 10211210622

Writing in Professional Context 2                          

Used to

The auxiliary verb construction used to is used to express an action that took place in the past, perhaps customarily, but now that action no longer customarily takes place:

• We used to take long vacation trips with the whole family.

The spelling of this verb is a problem for some people because the "-ed" ending quite naturally disappears in speaking, but it ought not to disappear in writing. There are exceptions, though. When the auxiliary is combined with another auxiliary, did, the past tense is carried by the new auxiliary and the "-ed" ending is dropped. This will often happen in the interrogative:

• Didn't you use to go jogging every morning before breakfast?
• It didn't use to be that way.

Used to can also be used to convey the sense of being accustomed to or familiar with something:

• The tire factory down the road really stinks, but we're used to it by now.
• I like these old sneakers; I'm used to them.

Used to is best reserved for colloquial usage; it has no place in formal or academic text.

Structure of Used to do

The structure is:

	subject	auxiliary did	not	main verb use	infinitive
+	I			Used	to do.
-	I	did	not	Use	to do.
?	Did	you		Use	to do?

Use of Used to do

We use the used to do expression to talk about:

• an activity that we did regularly in the past (like a habit)
• a situation that was true in the past

I used to smoke. ////// past present future

Look at these examples.

the past	the present
She used to work in a shop.	Now she works in a bank.
He used to watch a lot of TV.	Now he doesn't watch much TV.
They used to be married.	Now they are divorced.
There used to be a cinema here.	Now there is a supermarket here.
I didn't use to go swimming.	Now I go swimming.
Did you use to smoke?

Used to do

We use 'used to' for something that happened regularly in the past but no longer happens.

·         I used to smoke a packet a day but I stopped two years ago.

·         Ben used to travel a lot in his job but now, since his promotion, he doesn't.

·         I used to drive to work but now I take the bus.

We also use it for something that was true but  no longer is.

·         There used to be a cinema in the town but now there isn't.

·         She used to have really long hair but she's had it all cut off.

·         I didn't use to like him but now I do.

'Used to do' is different from 'to be used to doing' and 'to get used to doing'

to be used to doing

We use 'to be used to doing' to say that something is normal, not unusual.

·         I'm used to living on my own. I've done it for quite a long time.

·         Hans has lived in England for over a year so he is used to driving on the left now.

·         They've always lived in hot countries so they aren't used to the cold weather here.

to get used to doing

We use 'to get used to doing' to talk about the process of something becoming normal for us.

·         I didn't understand the accent when I first moved here but I quickly got used to it.

·         She has started working nights and is still getting used to sleeping during the day.

·         I have always lived in the country but now I'm beginning to get used to living in the city.

Used to shows that:

·         a particular thing always happened or was true in the past.

·         But it no longer happens or is no longer true now:

Examples:

·         David used to live in Madrid.

·         She used to exercise every morning, but since she had that terrible accident she doesn't exercise anymore.

·         Why don't you come and see me like you used to?

Forms of used to

Here are the interrogative, affirmative and negative forms of used to

·         Did you use to exercise regualrly?

·         Yes, I used to go jogging nearly everyday.

·         No, I didn't use to exercise on a regular basis.

Used to, be used to, get used to

1.Used to shows that a particular thing always happened or was true in the past (see examples above)

2.Be used to is used to say that something is normal, not unusual.

Examples:

·         I'm used to living alone.

·         Don't worry, John is used to driving for long hours. He has worked as a professional driver for 20 years.

3.Get used shows that something is in the process of becoming normal.

Examples:

·         He doesn't like that small town, but he'll get used to it.

·         She found the heels too high, but she got used to them.

·         Since the divorce, she has become very sad. But I think she'll get used to her new life.

·         I got used to living in Canada in spite of the cold weather.

4. Get used to and be used to are followed by either a noun or a gerund.

Get used to + noun	Get used to + gerund (verb+ing)
I got used to the noise I'm used to the cold weather	I got used to waking up early I'm used to working late at night

The auxiliary verb construction used to is used to express an action that took place in the past, perhaps customarily.