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2.3.1: Practice with "Used To"

  • Page ID
    266217
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    Exercise 1: Answer the following questions using used to.

    1. At what time did you use to eat dinner when you were in your native country?

    2. Who used to prepare dinner for your family when you were a child?

    3. Who used to take care of you when you were very young?

    4. Who did you use to see every day when you were in your country?

    5. At what time did you use to wake up when you lived in your native country?

    6. Who did you use to play with when you were very young?

    7. What sports did you use to play in your native country?

    8. Who used to teach you when you lived with your parents?

    Exercise 2: Negative and Positive Forms of "Used to"

    Used to Questions and Negatives

    Ten years ago, Max was a student, now he is a doctor. Use the prompts to ask and answer questions about Max, as in the example.

    THEN NOW

    be very messy be very neat

    live with his parents have his own house

    take the bus to the university have his own car

    play soccer go to the gym

    wear long hair wear short hair

    Example:

    A: Did Max use to be very neat?

    B: No, he didn’t. He used to be very messy.

    A: _____________________________________________________________________________

    B: _____________________________________________________________________________

    A: _____________________________________________________________________________

    B: _____________________________________________________________________________

    A: _____________________________________________________________________________

    B: _____________________________________________________________________________

    A: _____________________________________________________________________________

    B: _____________________________________________________________________________

    Exercise 3:

    A. Read the paragraph and complete the exercise that follows. The verbs are written in base form. You will choose the correct form in Part B.

    In the 1950s, women (wash) dishes in the kitchen sink. A woman (wash) the dishes immediately after everyone finished a meal. Her husband (rarely–wash) dishes because it was not considered to be his job. A wife (often–do) the dishes by hand. She (do) the dishes three times a day. I remember that my mother (have) a special towel just for dishes and not for hands.

    She (get) angry if we dried our hands with it. She (be) a very strict mother. Did your mother (have) the same rule? She would use a separate towel for dishes, (use) she? My grandmother (do) the dishes for thirty years. Then she bought a dishwasher. Last year, she (use) a dishwasher for the first time and will never go back to hand-washing the dishes!

    do the dishes (expression) – wash the dishes (See make / do)

    strict (Adj) – imposing rules for behavior

    B. Select the verb forms for past and past habits that complete the paragraph. Sometimes more than one answer may be correct.

    1. In the 1950s, women (used to wash / would wash) dishes in the kitchen sink.

    2. A woman (would wash/ used to wash) the dishes immediately after everyone finished a meal

    3. Her husband (would rarely wash/ rarely used to wash) dishes because it was not considered to be his job.

    4. A wife (often used to dry/ used to often dry the dishes by hand

    5. She (did / would do / used to do the dishes three times a day.

    6. I remember that my mother (would have / used to have) a special towel just for dishes and not for hands.

    7. She (would get/ used to get) angry if we dried our hands with it.

    8. She (would be/ used to be ) a very strict mother.

    9. Did your mother (use to have/ used to have the same rule?

    10. My grandmother (did/ would do/ used to do) the dishes for thirty years. Then she bought a dishwasher.

    Last year, she (used/ would use/ used to use) a dishwasher for the first time and will never go back to hand-washing the dishes!

    Exercise 2: Grammar Quizzes by Julie Sevastopoulos is licensed for use under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International

    Exercise 4: Used to-Affirmative and Negative

    Fill in the blanks with the correct form of "used to" (affirmative or negative):

    1. When I was a child, I ____________________ (eat) ice cream every day after school.
    2. She ____________________ (enjoy) playing outside, but now she prefers staying indoors.
    3. We ____________________ (live) in a small apartment before we moved to a house.
    4. They ____________________ (travel) to Europe every summer when they were younger.
    5. He ____________________ (be) afraid of dogs, but now he has one as a pet.
    6. I ____________________ (not like) broccoli, but now I eat it regularly.
    7. She ____________________ (not understand) Spanish, so she had trouble during her last trip to Mexico.
    8. She ____________________ (be) a vegetarian in college, but now she eats meat.
    9. We ____________________ (not have) a car when we first moved to the city.
    10. He ____________________ (write) letters to his friends, but now he uses email.
    11. They ____________________ (not enjoy) going to the beach when they were kids.
    12. I ____________________ (play) the piano when I was young, but I stopped taking lessons.
    13. He ____________________ (not enjoy) playing sports in school, but he has become more active now.
    14. He ____________________ (be) very shy, but now he speaks confidently in public.
    15. We ____________________ (not go) camping when we were kids; we preferred staying in hotels

    This page titled 2.3.1: Practice with "Used To" is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Allyson Marceau.

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