used to + V1

Konu Anlatımı

used to — Geçmiş Alışkanlıklar

used to + V1, geçmişte düzenli olarak yapılan ama artık yapılmayan eylemleri ve geçmişteki durumları anlatır. Türkçeye genellikle "-erdi" ya da "eskiden... yapardı" olarak çevrilir.

used to Ne Zaman Kullanılır?

• Geçmiş alışkanlık: I used to play football every weekend. (Artık oynamıyorum.)
• Geçmiş durum: She used to live in a small village.
• Artık geçerli olmayan gerçekler: There used to be a bakery on this street.

Karşılaştırma: I used to ride a bike to school (geçmiş alışkanlık) ↔ I ride a bike to school (şimdiki alışkanlık).

used to ile would Farkı

would yalnızca geçmişteki tekrarlanan eylemleri anlatır; durumlar için kullanılmaz. I used to have a bicycle (durum) — burada would have olmaz.

Olumsuz, Soru ve Sınavdaki Kullanımlar

used to olumsuz ve soru cümlelerinde yalın biçime döner: I didn't use to walk to school. ve Did you use to play the piano? Burada used to değil use to yazılır; çünkü yardımcı fiil did zaten geçmiş zamanı taşır. Olumsuz ve soruda bu yazım ayrıntısı soruların sık çıkan kısmıdır.

Karşılaştırma cümlelerinde used to ile would birlikte kullanılmaz: My grandfather used to walk to school, but now he drives. doğrudur; He used to would walk biçiminde bir yapı yoktur. Ayrıca be used to ile karıştırma sorulur: I am used to getting up early. cümlesi geçmişle ilgili değildir, kişinin şu andaki alışkanlığını anlatır. Sınavda bu iki yapı şıklarda hep birlikte sunulur ve ayırt etmek için cümleye bakılır.

Ne Öğreneceğiz

In this lesson you will learn how to say that something was true in the past but is not true any more. The pattern is used to + base form, and it works for two things: repeated past actions (I used to play football after school) and past states (She used to live in a small village).

You will compare used to with the present simple, so that you can show change clearly: I used to ride a bike, but now I take the bus. That contrast, with but now, is what the exam looks for.

You will also learn the limits of the structure. Used to cannot describe a single completed event (I used to visit him yesterday is wrong) and it cannot describe an action that continues into the present.

Ön Bilgi

You need three things before this lesson.

First, the present simple for habits, because the whole point of used to is that the habit belonged to the past and has stopped: I play tennis versus I used to play tennis.

Second, the past simple. When you talk about one finished event, the past simple is enough: I visited my grandmother last Sunday. Used to is only for repeated actions or states.

Third, the negative and question forms with did. In negatives and questions, the -d of used disappears: I didn't use to like coffee and Did you use to walk to school? This is the detail that is tested most often, so learn it as a pair.

Basit Örnek ve Günlük Yaşam

Read this short text and mark the changes.

When I was seven, I used to walk to school with my grandfather. We used to stop at the same bakery and buy a simit. These days I walk with my friends and I rarely have time for breakfast. My grandfather still walks in the park every morning.

The first two sentences describe repeated past actions with used to. The third sentence brings the text back to the present, which is the standard way to close a comparison text.

Now write three sentences about your own changes, using the frame: I used to... but now I...

İleri Örnek

Compare the two ways of describing change.

With used to: My father used to read newspapers every morning. Actually, he still does, but on his phone now.

With the past simple: In 2015 my father started reading newspapers online.

The first version describes a state or a habit and says whether it continues. The second describes a moment of change. In a writing task, used to is the safer choice when the question says how things have changed, because it makes the contrast with the present explicit.

Notice also the polite insertion actually, which is common when correcting an impression. It is not a grammar word, but it makes the text natural.

Adım Adım Çözülmüş Örnek

Follow these steps to build a correct sentence with used to.

1. Step 1 — Decide whether the meaning is a repeated action or a state. Both take used to: I used to swim, I used to be shy.
2. Step 2 — Use the base form after to. I used to swimming and I used to swam are both wrong; write I used to swim.
3. Step 3 — For the negative, add didn't and lose the -d. I didn't use to like spinach. Not I didn't used to like.
4. Step 4 — For the question, start with Did and again lose the -d. Did you use to live here? Not Did you used to live here?
5. Step 5 — Add the present contrast. ... but now I do. or ... but these days I don't. Without a contrast, the reader may not notice the change.

Karşılaştırma Tablosu

Used to, would and the past simple look similar. This table shows which one to choose.

Do not mix them: I used to would play is not English. Choose one structure.

Sık Yapılan Hatalar

Five mistakes are typical of this pattern.

• Keeping the -d after did. Did you used to study here? should be Did you use to study here? The auxiliary already carries the past.
• Writing used to plus an -ing form. That form belongs to a different pattern: I am used to studying means studying is normal for me now, not that I studied in the past.
• Using used to for a single event. I used to go to the concert last night is wrong; the past simple is needed: I went to the concert last night.
• Forgetting the present contrast. A text that only says I used to live in Izmir may leave the reader unsure whether you still live there.
• Using would for a state. I would have long hair is not correct for a state; say I used to have long hair.

Özet

Used to is the simplest way to show that the past was different.

• Form: used to + base form; negative didn't use to; question Did... use to...?
• Meaning: a repeated action or a state that was true then and is not true now.
• Limit: never for a single completed event and never for something that still continues.
• Contrast: pair it with the present simple and but now or these days.
• Similar: would works only for repeated actions, not for states.

Kendini Dene

Answer in full sentences and then check the key.

1. Complete: She ____ (live) in a small village, but now she lives in the city.
2. Which sentence is correct? (a) Did you used to play the piano? (b) Did you use to play the piano? (c) Did you playing the piano?
3. Put into the negative: I used to hate coffee.
4. Rewrite correctly: I used to going to that school.
5. Which structure can describe a state as well as an action: would or used to?
6. Write three sentences about how your neighbourhood changed. Use used to twice and one present tense.

Answer key: 1) used to live — a past state that is no longer true, followed by the base form. 2) (b) — after did, used loses its -d. 3) I didn't use to hate coffee. 4) I used to go to that school. — used to takes the base form; the -ing form belongs to am used to. 5) used to. 6) Any three correct sentences, e.g. There used to be a playground behind our building, but now there is a car park. I used to walk to school with my neighbours. These days most children come by bus.