Talking about your past habits

I used to + (verb)

This structure is used to talk about a person’s past habits.

I used to smoke, but now I don’t.

He used to play football at school.

She used to teach at a music academy.

Granny used to visit us every Sunday.

He used to write plays for television.

I used to exercise every day.

I used to eat a lot of chocolates.

I used to start work at 6 am.

She used to act strangely.

Note that this structure is not used to talk about something that we still do.

Compare:

She used to visit me every day. (= Now she doesn’t visit me every day.)

She visits me every day. (Here we are talking about a current habit of the person.)

I’m not used to + (verb-ing)

When you are not used to something, you are not familiar with it. Note that we use an –ing form after be + used to.

I’m not used to living in a big city.

I’m not used to starving.

I’ not used to working with older people.

I’m not used to living alone.

I’m not used to working so hard.

I’m not used to traveling so much.

I’m not used to handling so much responsibility.