Used to / didn't use to

Used to / didn't use to
When talking about things that we did in the past but don't do now we can use the expression used to. The negative form, to talk about things which we didn't do in the past but do now, is didn't use to.

Positive sentences

I used to smoke 20 cigarettes a day.
I used to eat loads of junk food.
Negative sentences: I didn't use to do any exercise.
I didn't use to swim very well.

All pronouns take
used to / didn't use to


I
You
She
He
It
We
They
used to / didn't use to eat a lot of sweets.
eat meat.
live in the city.
have long hair.


Used to and didn't use to are only used to talk about past habits. There is no present form. To talk about present habits we can use the present simple. When using these structures there are often two parts to the sentence, something about the past and something about the present, for example:

I used to drive to work but now I go by car.
I didn't use to like coffee but I love it now.