Used to (Grammar): David’s Secret Past (English / ESL Video)

Synopsis of English / ESL Video

Discover David’s secret past and teach pre-intermediate level learners used to (grammar) & “didn’t use to” using this ESL video story.

Title of English / ESL Video

David’s Secret Past

Target English Grammar

Used to (grammar) with “didn’t use to” and past simple.

Student Proficiency Level

Pre-intermediate level

Suggested Courses

General English

Instructions

– Play the video in class after delivering a warm-up activity first.
– Pause the video whenever the narrator asks students a question to give students time to answer. For example, after elicitations and concept checking questions (CCQs).

Summary of English Grammar: Used to (Grammar)

Approximate chronological order:

Rules and Explanation:

– Elicitation of example sentence.

Function:

– To talk about things that happen repeatedly or regularly or over a long period of time in the past, but are usually not true now.
– We can also use the past simple instead. Example:
– I played football every weekend.
– I used to play football every weekend.

Specific Uses:

– Past habits: I used to eat healthy.
– Past states: I used to be strong.
– Preferences, feelings, thoughts, ideas, etc.: I used to like this girl at work.
– We use didn’t use to to talk about things that are true now, but weren’t true before.
– Example: I didn’t use to smoke.

Actions that only happened once:

– We don’t use used to for actions that only happened once. Instead, we use the past simple.
– Example: I went to Egypt last year. (Past simple – This is correct.)
– Example: I used to go to Egypt last year. (Used to – This is incorrect.)

Timeline:

– Used to / didn’t use to talks about something that happened regularly in the past.
– It started at an unknown time in the past and stopped happening at an unknown time in the past.

Form:

Statements:

– Subject + used to / didn’t use to + verb (base form) + …
– I + used to + play + football every weekend.
– We can use both action and non-action verbs with used to.
– Action verbs: play, eat, smoke, went, etc.
– Non-action verbs: be, like, have, afraid, etc.
– Used to + not… any more / any longer (present simple)
– We use not… any more / any longer to contrast with used to.
– Example: I used to play football every weekend, but I don’t any more / any longer.

Yes/No Questions:

– Did / didn’t + subject + use to + verb (base form) + …?
– Did + you + use to + play + football every weekend?

Open Questions:

– Wh-/how + did / didn’t + subject + use to + verb (base form) + …?
– What sport + did + you + use to + play + ?

“d”:

– Elicitation from students: Why is there a d in used to, but no d in didn’t use to.
– Didn’t is already in the past tense, so we don’t change use into the past tense as well.

Past Tense vs. Present Tense:

– Used to / didn’t use to = past tense
– Don’t use used to / didn’t use to for present tense sentences.
– Instead use: present simple + usually for present tense sentences.
– Example: I usually play football every weekend.

Concept Checking Questions (CCQs)

Summary of Functions and Uses:

– To talk about things that happened repeatedly or regularly or over a long period of time in the past, but are usually not true now.
– Repeated actions in the past.
– Past habits.
– Past states.
– Past preferences, feelings, thoughts, ideas, etc.

*** English / ESL Video: No Music Version ***

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