Used to | 1st Year Bac Lesson

What is 'used to' for?

We use “used to” to talk about something that happened regularly in the past, or was true in the past, but is not true now.

USED TO + BASE VERB

“I used to live in Casablanca.” (I lived there before, but not now)
“She used to play the piano every day.” (she doesn’t do it anymore)

Negative form

SUBJECT + DIDN’T USE TO + BASE VERB

“I didn’t use to like vegetables.” (but now I do)
Notice: only one “d” in “use to” after “didn’t” — not “didn’t used to”.

Question form

DID + SUBJECT + USE TO + BASE VERB?

“Did you use to live near the school?”
Just like the negative form, “used” loses its “-d” after “did”.

A common mistake

Don’t use “used to” for something that only happened one time. It’s only for repeated actions or past situations.

❌ “I used to go to Rabat last week.” (wrong — this happened only once)
✅ “I went to Rabat last week.” (correct — use the Simple Past for one-time actions)
✅ “I used to go to Rabat every summer.” (correct — this happened regularly)

WHEN I WAS YOUNG عندما كنت صغيرا

Shows the sentence is about the past.

"When I was young, I used to play outside all day."

AS A CHILD عندما كنت طفلا

Another common way to introduce a past-habit sentence.

"As a child, she used to be scared of the dark."

IN THE PAST في الماضي

A general time phrase for something no longer true.

"In the past, people used to write letters instead of emails."

YEARS AGO منذ سنوات

Shows the habit happened a long time before now.

"Years ago, we used to walk to school together."

BACK THEN في ذلك الوقت

A casual way to talk about an earlier time.

"Back then, life used to be much simpler."

WHEN I WAS AT PRIMARY SCHOOL عندما كنت في المدرسة الابتدائية

A specific time phrase for childhood memories.

"When I was at primary school, I used to hate Maths."

When I was young, I ___ play outside every day.

used to

use to

uses to

“Used to” is the correct form for repeated past actions.

🔍 Find the mistake — tap the wrong word.

I didn't used to like coffee.

After “didn’t”, the verb loses its -d — it’s “didn’t use to”, not “didn’t used to”.

🧩 Tap the words in the correct order.

use you Did to live here

“Did you use to live here?” — DID + subject + use to + base verb.

She ⟪blank⟫ be afraid of dogs, but now she loves them.

used to

uses to

use

“Used to” shows something true in the past that isn’t true now.

🔎 Tap the word that doesn't belong.

🚗I went to Rabat last week.

🎈I used to play outside every day.

🎹She used to play the piano.

✉️People used to write letters.

“I went to Rabat last week” is the odd one out — it’s a one-time action, so it uses Simple Past, not “used to”.

🔍 Find the mistake — tap the wrong word.

We use to live in Fes when I was a child.

The positive form needs the -d: “used to”, not “use to”.

___ you use to live near the school?

Did

Do

Were

Questions with “used to” always start with “Did”.

🧩 Tap the words in the correct order.

I use to didn't vegetables like

“I didn’t use to like vegetables.” — remember, no -d after “didn’t”.

⟪blank⟫, people used to write letters instead of emails.

In the past

Right now

Next year

“In the past” fits with “used to” because it signals something no longer true.

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Everything covered in this lesson

Used to اعتاد

Didn’t use to لم يعتد

Did…use to…? هل اعتاد

When I was young عندما كنت صغيرا

As a child عندما كنت طفلا

In the past في الماضي

Years ago منذ سنوات

Back then في ذلك الوقت

✓

Lesson summary