Unit 2: Grammar: "Used to + Verb" for Past Habits : cours 1 Bac SM

1Course Learning Objectives

This section outlines the six core objectives that students must achieve by the end of this grammar lesson. Each objective is directly linked to tasks encountered in the Regional Baccalaureate Exam.

Objective 1 — Recognition

Recognize the'used to + base verb' structure when it appears in reading passages and listening activities, identifying it as a marker of discontinued past habits or states.

Objective 2 — Past Habits

Use'used to' accurately to talk about repeated past actions (habits) that no longer take place in the present. Example context: daily routines, childhood activities, former customs.

Objective 3 — Past States

Use'used to' accurately to describe past states or conditions (beliefs, feelings, situations) that were true at a certain time in the past but are no longer true today.

Objective 4 — Three Forms

Construct grammatically correct sentences in all three forms of the structure: affirmative ('used to + base verb'), negative ('didn't use to + base verb'), and interrogative ('Did \dots use to + base verb?').

Objective 5 — Avoiding Confusion

Distinguish'used to + base verb' (past habits/states) from'be used to + V-ing' (being accustomed to something) and'get used to + V-ing' (becoming accustomed to something), and apply each correctly in context.

Objective 6 — Exam Writing & Speaking

Integrate the'used to' structure fluently in written productions — paragraph, email, or short essay — and in oral discussions, meeting the standards of the Regional Baccalaureate Exam for 1ère année Baccalauréat.

	$Learning Objective$	$Skill Area$	$Exam Relevance$
$1$	$Recognize 'used to + base verb' in context$	$Reading / Listening$	$Comprehension tasks$
$2$	$Describe discontinued past habits$	$Grammar / Writing$	$Sentence transformation, gap-fill$
$3$	$Describe past states no longer true$	$Grammar / Writing$	$Paragraph / essay writing$
$4$	$Build affirmative, negative & interrogative forms$	$Grammar$	$Error correction, rewriting$
$5$	$Distinguish 'used to' / 'be used to' / 'get used to'$	$Grammar$	$Multiple choice, gap-fill$
$6$	$Use the structure in writing & speaking$	$Writing / Speaking$	$Guided writing, oral production$

Overview of the six learning objectives and their links to Regional Baccalaureate Exam task types.

Before studying 'used to + verb', students need to be comfortable with a small set of previously learned grammar points. Mastering these will make the new structure easier to understand and apply.

Simple Past Tense

A verb tense used to describe actions that were completed at a specific point in the past. It is the closest grammatical reference to 'used to', since both structures talk about the past. Regular verbs add -ed (e.g., walked, played), while irregular verbs have unique forms (e.g., go \to went, have \to had).

Auxiliary Verbs 'do' / 'did'

'Did' is the past form of the auxiliary 'do'. It is used to form negatives (did not / didn't) and questions (Did + subject + verb?) in the Simple Past. These exact patterns are reused when forming the negative 'didn't use to' and the question 'Did ... use to?'.

Base Form (Bare Infinitive)

The dictionary form of a verb, with no endings added (e.g., play, eat, go, study). After 'used to', the verb must always appear in its base form. Being able to identify this form quickly is essential for using 'used to' correctly.

Frequency Adverbs

Words that describe how often an action happens in the present: always, often, usually, sometimes, never. They are used with the Simple Present to express current habits, which provides a useful contrast when comparing present routines with past habits expressed by 'used to'.

Simple Past: Regular vs. Irregular Verbs

Regular

Add -ed to the base form: play \to played, walk \to walked, study \to studied.

Irregular

The past form changes unpredictably and must be memorised: go \to went, eat \to ate, have \to had, be \to was/were.

Why it matters

'Used to' behaves like a Simple Past auxiliary: it always refers to the past, and its negative/question forms follow the same 'did + base form' rule as the Simple Past.

Role of 'did' in Negatives and Questions

Simple Past negative

She did not (didn't) go to school. \to The main verb returns to its base form after 'did'.

Simple Past question

Did she go to school? \to 'Did' moves to the front; the main verb stays in its base form .

Direct link to 'used to'

The same logic applies: She didn't use to go. / Did she use to go? — 'use to' (base form) replaces the main verb after 'did'.

Frequency Adverbs: Present vs. Past Habits

Present habit

She usually walks to school. (Simple Present + frequency adverb)

Past habit

She used to walk to school. (no longer true today)

Contrast

Frequency adverbs describe how often something happens now; 'used to' describes what happened regularly in the past but no longer does . Understanding this contrast is key to using 'used to' correctly.

$Prerequisite$	$Example$	$Link to 'Used to'$
$Simple Past (regular)$	$She played football every day.$	$'Used to' also describes repeated past actions.$
$Simple Past (irregular)$	$He went to the market.$	$Irregular verbs still appear after 'used to' in their base form.$
$Auxiliary 'did' - negative$	$They didn't go out.$	$\to They didn't use to go out.$
$Auxiliary 'did' - question$	$Did she study hard?$	$\to Did she use to study hard?$
$Base form (bare infinitive)$	$eat, play, live, read$	$The verb after 'used to' is always in the base form.$
$Frequency adverb$	$He always watches TV now.$	$Contrast: He used to watch a lot of TV (past habit).$

Summary of prerequisite grammar points and their direct connection to 'used to + verb'.

Quick Self Check Before You Continue

Can you write the Simple Past of: go, play, have, eat, watch?

Can you make a Simple Past sentence negative using 'didn't'?

Can you identify the base form of a verb when given its past form?

Can you name at least four frequency adverbs used with the Simple Present?

If you answered yes to all four questions, you are ready to study 'used to + verb'.

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