The sentence

2. We often use do and did + use (Not *used*) to form questions and negatives:
Did you use to smoke? I didn’t use to smoke. (Not *Did you used to* *I didn’t used to*)
We also use never to form the negative: I never used to smoke. (Used not to is rare.)
3. Note the use of did: He used to live in Manchester, didn’t he? (rather than usedn’t he?)
Did you use to live here? – Yes, I did./No, I didn’t. He used to live here and so did I.
Uses of ‘used to’
1. We use the simple past or used to to refer to past habit.
We need a time reference with the simple past, but not with used to:
I collected stamps when I was a child. I used to collect stamps (when I was a child).
(Not *I was collecting stamps when I was a child*)
2. We use used to to make a contrast between past and present with expressions like:
but now …, but not any more, but not any longer:
I used to eat a large breakfast, but I don’t any longer.
3. Used to can also refer to past states:
She used to be very punctual (but she isn’t any more).
‘Would’ in place of ‘used to’ and in place of the simple past
When we are ‘remembering the past’, we sometimes use would in place of used to.
First we set the scene with used to, then we continue with would:
When I was a boy we always spent/used to spend our holidays on a farm. We would get up at
5 and we’d help milk the cows. Then we’d return to the kitchen for breakfast.
‘Will/would’ to describe ‘usual behaviour’
We sometimes use will in place of the simple present and would in place of the simple past
to refer to a person’s ‘usual behaviour’:
In fine weather he will often sit in the sun for hours. (= he often sits)
As he grew old, he would often talk about his war experiences. (= he often talked)
L. ‘Need’ and ‘dare’ as modals and as full verbs
‘Need’ as a modal and as a full verb
1. We use need as a modal (without to after it) mainly in the negative to mean ‘it isn’t
necessary’: I needn’t go to the meeting today. I needn’t have gone to the meeting
yesterday.
2. In the affirmative, we use need as a modal:
- in questions: Need you go so soon? Need you have told him the truth?
- with ‘negative adverbs’ (e.g. hardly): I need hardly tell you how important this is.
3. Otherwise, we generally use the full verb need to (used like any regular verb):
I need to/I don’t need to/I needed to/ I didn’t need to go to the dentist this
morning.
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