Grammar Explanation: Used to and didn't use to

Grammar Explanation: Used to and didn't use to When we want to talk about the past and things that we did regularly, things that were habits, we say "used to" followed by the base form of the verb, which is the infinitive without ‘to'. That's ‘used' used to. Listen to Peter: Peter: I used to smoke 20 a day. By saying "used to" Peter is telling us about the past, about his habit (his smoking) and that he doesn't smoke any more. We use "used to" to talk about discontinued past habits; that's things that we did before but which we don't do now. Listen again: Peter: I used to smoke 20 a day. Jane, on the other hand, told us about something she didn't do when she was younger. Jane: I didn't use to walk anywhere. The negative form is ‘not' + ‘use', that's use, followed by the base form. Listen again: Jane: I didn't use to walk anywhere. So, to recap then: when you want to talk about things you did regularly in the past but which you don't do now, you say "used to" followed by the base form. She used to smoke. They used to eat meat. In the negative, it's "didn't use to" followed by the base form. She didn't use to walk anywhere.