What are the uses of used to in English?

Used to plus a bare infinitive has two past uses: a habit that has stopped (Sioned used to skipper a coble) and a state that is no longer true (the mill used to stand on the far bank). In both, the form tells the listener that now is different. It does not describe present habits, and it is not the same as be used to.

Is it didn't use to or didn't used to?

The form most teachers want is didn't use to, because did already carries the past: I didn't use to drink coffee. Didn't used to is common in speech. Used not to is a more formal alternative. Never used to (I never used to drink coffee) keeps the d on used.

How do you ask a question with used to?

Use did plus the subject plus use to plus a bare verb: Did you use to walk the towpath before dawn, or Did Sioned use to skipper out of Whitby. The old statement form used you to is no longer current, and short answers use used to or didn't: Yes, I used to.

What is the difference between used to and be used to?

Used to plus a bare verb is a closed past habit or state: I used to work nights. Be used to plus a noun or -ing means be accustomed, in any tense: I am used to working nights. Get used to means become accustomed: I got used to the smell of the tannery. Only the first pattern is a past-habit form.

Can I use would instead of used to?

Sometimes, for repeated past actions inside a story: Every Thursday we would fire the kiln. Would cannot replace used to for past states (not the mill would stand on the far bank), and it usually needs a past time frame around it. Used to stands alone, covers states, and is contrasted fully on the used to vs. would page.

English grammar · Intermediate

Use of Used to: Past Habits, States, and Be Used To

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

Used to plus a bare infinitive describes a past habit or a past state that is no longer true: Sioned used to skipper a coble; the mill used to stand on the far bank. The form itself is used to in statements. Negatives and questions usually switch to didn't use to and did you use to, with a bare use. This page is the uses of used to, including the lookalikes be used to and get used to, which mean something else. The contrast with would for past habits is a separate lesson.

Sioned used to skipper a coble out of Staithes.

a past habit or state that is no longer true

What it is

Used to does two jobs at once. It says that a situation was typical in the past, and it says that situation is over now. That is why it covers both repeated actions (Sioned used to skipper a coble) and states (the mill used to stand on the far bank). The past simple can describe the same facts (Sioned skippered a coble; the mill stood on the far bank) without the built-in contrast with now. Choose used to when the point of the sentence is that things have changed.

I used to work nights at the tannery. (A past habit, finished.) The tannery used to employ eighty people. (A past state, finished.) I worked nights at the tannery in 2014. (A finished fact, no now-contrast required.)

How to spot it

Look for used to plus a bare verb in a statement about the past. If the following word is an -ing form or a noun (used to the smell, used to working nights), you have be used to or get used to instead, and the meaning is accustomed, not past habit.

Sioned used to skipper a coble out of Staithes. (past habit, no longer true)
The mill used to stand on the far bank of the Hebden. (past state, the building is gone)
I didn't use to drink coffee before the night shifts. (negative: didn't use to + bare verb)
Did you use to walk the towpath before dawn? (question: did + use to + bare verb)

Used to the past-habit marker is pronounced with a /s/ (yoost). The ordinary past of use (we used the kiln) has a /z/. The spelling is the same; the sound and the following to tell them apart.

Uses of Used To Quick Reference

The uses and forms of used to

Use or form	Pattern	Example
Past habit (repeated action)	used to + infinitive	Sioned used to skipper a coble.
Past state (no longer true)	used to + infinitive	The mill used to stand on the far bank.
Negative (usual)	didn't use to + infinitive	I didn't use to drink coffee.
Negative (formal / older)	used not to + infinitive	I used not to drink coffee.
Question	Did ... use to + infinitive	Did you use to walk the towpath?
Be used to (accustomed)	be used to + noun / -ing	She is used to the smell of the tannery.
Get used to (become accustomed)	get used to + noun / -ing	I got used to working nights.

Common Uses of Used To Examples in English

Used to grouped by the job it is doing: closing a habit, closing a state, and the lookalikes that share the spelling:

Past Habits That Have Stopped

Sioned used to skipper a coble out of Staithes.: a repeated past job, now finished
We used to fire the kiln only on Thursdays.: a discontinued routine
I used to walk the towpath before every night shift.: a personal habit, contrasted with now
The choir used to rehearse in the vestry above the harpsichord.: a group habit that has moved on

The now-contrast can be stated (but she runs a chandler's now) or left implied. The form used to already tells the listener that the habit is over.

Past States That Are No Longer True

The mill used to stand on the far bank of the Hebden.: a past location, the mill is gone
There used to be a tannery at the end of the cobbles.: there used to be + a past existence
Harun used to own a pair of Handley looms.: a past possession: a state, not an action
The water in the mill race used to be colder in March.: a past quality, no longer the case

States (stand, be, own, have, live, like, believe) take used to comfortably. Would cannot replace used to in any of these sentences. That contrast is on the used to vs. would page.

Not a Past Habit: Be Used To and Get Used To

Sioned is used to the swell off Staithes.: be used to + noun: accustomed now
I am used to working nights at the tannery.: be used to + -ing: accustomed now
Harun got used to the noise of the looms.: get used to: the process of becoming accustomed
She will never get used to firing the kiln at two in the morning.: get used to in the future

After be used to and get used to, to is a preposition, so a noun or an -ing form follows, not a bare infinitive. She is used to skipper a coble is the error that mix-up produces.

How Used To Works

One spelling, two jobs in the past, and a third lookalike that is not a past form at all.

Used to Plus a Bare Infinitive

In a statement the form is used to plus the dictionary form of the verb: used to skipper, used to stand, used to own. There is no -ing and no to-infinitive after another to. The form does not change with the subject: I used to, she used to, they used to. It has no present-tense twin. For present habits, use the present simple (Sioned skippers a coble) or usually.

Sioned used to skipper a coble out of Staithes.

used to + bare skipper, same form for every subject

used to + base verb, past only.

It Covers Habits and States

A habit is a repeated past action (walk the towpath, fire the kiln, skipper a coble). A state is a situation that held over time without being done (stand, be, own, live, like). Used to handles both, and that is its main advantage over would, which only handles repeated actions and needs a past setting around it. If you can replace used to with once, but not now, you are in the right place.

Harun used to own a pair of Handley looms.

own is a state: used to works, would does not

Actions and states, both now finished.

The Point Is the Contrast with Now

The past simple reports a past fact. Used to reports a past fact and marks it as closed. I worked nights at the tannery in 2014 is a dated fact. I used to work nights at the tannery invites the listener to notice that this is no longer my life. If you do not want that contrast, or if you are telling a story with a chain of events, the past simple is usually better.

I used to work nights at the tannery, but I moved to the day shift in May.

used to plus an explicit now-contrast

Used to = past, and over now.

Be Used To and Get Used To Are Different Verbs

Be used to means be accustomed, and it is a present (or past, or future) state, not a past-habit marker: She is used to the swell. Get used to means become accustomed: I got used to working nights. In both, to is a preposition, so a noun or -ing follows. The three spellings look alike on the page. They do not share a meaning or a complement.

I am used to working nights, because I used to work at the tannery.

be used to + -ing (now), then used to + infinitive (past habit)

Accustomed: be/get used to + noun/-ing.

Common Mistakes with Uses of Used To

Incorrect: I am used to skipper a coble out of Staithes.

Correct: I used to skipper a coble out of Staithes. / I am used to skippering a coble.

The two patterns have been blended. Past habit needs used to plus a bare verb. Accustomed needs be used to plus -ing or a noun. Pick one meaning and use its complement.

Incorrect: She didn't used to fire the kiln on Thursdays.

Correct: She didn't use to fire the kiln on Thursdays.

Did already marks the past, so use goes back to the base form, as it does in didn't go and didn't have. Didn't used to is heard, but it double-marks the tense.

Incorrect: The mill would stand on the far bank of the Hebden.

Correct: The mill used to stand on the far bank of the Hebden.

Stand is a state, not a repeated action. Would cannot describe a past state. Used to (or the past simple) is the form that covers it. Would is for repeated actions inside a past scene.

Incorrect: I use to work nights at the tannery.

Correct: I used to work nights at the tannery.

The past-habit marker is used to, with a d. There is no present form I use to for habits. Present habits take the present simple: I work nights at the tannery.

Negatives and Questions

Statements keep used to. Negatives and questions usually switch to the dummy auxiliary did, and the spelling of use loses its d.

Didn't use to

The ordinary negative is didn't use to plus a bare infinitive: I didn't use to drink coffee. She didn't use to skipper anything larger than a coble. An older or more formal alternative is used not to: I used not to drink coffee. Both are standard. Didn't used to, with a d on use, is common in speech and widely seen, but marking the past twice (did + used) is the form most teachers correct.

I didn't use to drink coffee before the night shifts.: didn't use to + bare drink
The mill didn't use to flood in an ordinary March.: negative past state
I used not to walk the towpath on my own.: formal negative: used not to

Never used to is also common (I never used to drink coffee) and keeps the statement form of used.

Did you use to

Questions take did plus the subject plus use to plus a bare infinitive: Did you use to walk the towpath before dawn. Did the mill use to stand on this bank. There is no do-support with the statement form (Used you to is obsolete).

Did you use to walk the towpath before dawn?: did plus you plus use to plus walk
Did Sioned use to skipper out of Whitby as well?: third-person question, still use not used
What did you use to fire the kiln with?: wh-question, same skeleton

The answer often echoes with used to, not with did: Yes, I used to. No, I didn't, or No, I didn't use to.

Quick Check: Uses of Used To

Complete each sentence with used to, didn't use to, be used to, or get used to, plus the verb in brackets.

1. Sioned ___ (skipper) a coble out of Staithes, but she runs a chandler's now.

Answer: used to skipper

closed past habit

2. There ___ (be) a tannery at the end of the cobbles.

Answer: used to be

past existence: a state

3. I ___ (not / drink) coffee before the night shifts.

Answer: didn't use to drink

negative: didn't use to + bare verb

4. ___ you ___ (walk) the towpath before dawn?

Answer: Did you use to walk

question: Did + use to

5. After a month of night shifts, I ___ (work) in the dark. (become accustomed)

Answer: got used to working

get used to + -ing

Uses of Used To FAQs

What are the uses of used to in English?: Used to plus a bare infinitive has two past uses: a habit that has stopped (Sioned used to skipper a coble) and a state that is no longer true (the mill used to stand on the far bank). In both, the form tells the listener that now is different. It does not describe present habits, and it is not the same as be used to.
Is it didn't use to or didn't used to?: The form most teachers want is didn't use to, because did already carries the past: I didn't use to drink coffee. Didn't used to is common in speech. Used not to is a more formal alternative. Never used to (I never used to drink coffee) keeps the d on used.
How do you ask a question with used to?: Use did plus the subject plus use to plus a bare verb: Did you use to walk the towpath before dawn, or Did Sioned use to skipper out of Whitby. The old statement form used you to is no longer current, and short answers use used to or didn't: Yes, I used to.
What is the difference between used to and be used to?: Used to plus a bare verb is a closed past habit or state: I used to work nights. Be used to plus a noun or -ing means be accustomed, in any tense: I am used to working nights. Get used to means become accustomed: I got used to the smell of the tannery. Only the first pattern is a past-habit form.
Can I use would instead of used to?: Sometimes, for repeated past actions inside a story: Every Thursday we would fire the kiln. Would cannot replace used to for past states (not the mill would stand on the far bank), and it usually needs a past time frame around it. Used to stands alone, covers states, and is contrasted fully on the used to vs. would page.