Simple Past Used to “Used to” refers to things that happened at an earlier stage of one’s life and are now finished: there is an idea that circumstances have changed. It is not used simply to say what happened at a past time, or how long it took, or how many times it happened.
PAST SIMPLE / USED TO / WOULD
TO EXPRESS PAST HABITS/ROUTINES
- Simple past =used to
–What did people use(d) to do in the evenings before TV?
-What did people do in the evenings before TV?
(Note: when questions and negatives are written, they often have did…….used instead of did use
- I liked playing tennis when I was younger.
- I used to like playing tennis when I was younger.
Although both forms are used, we prefer used to+infinitive to talk about past habits which are now finished.
there is an idea that circumstances have changed when we use the form used to + infinitive
- Simple Past -Used to
Used to refers to things that happened at an earlier stage of one’s life and are finished: There is an idea that circumstances have changed. It is not used simply to say what happened in the past, or how long it took, or how many times it happened.
- I studied very hard last year (not= I used to study very hard last year) (simple past to say what happened at a past time)
- I worked in Moscow for 5 years ( not= I used to work in Moscow for 5 years)( simple past to say often) Simple past to say how long
- James went to Moscow 5 times last year ( Not= James used to go to Moscow five times last year) Simple past to say how often.
- Used to = Would
Both can be used to refer to repeated actions and events in the past. Would sometimes suggest a feeling of nostalgia so is often used for personal reminiscences.
On winter days, we used to/would sit around the fire and tell stories. When I was a child, my sister used to / would take me to the cinema every Sunday
you have now finished the exercise.
Elena Malyshkina
James is a very professional teacher with whom i recommend to work 100%.
I had several goals before we start
1 – resume my English communication skills after almost a 10-year break
2 – not to afraid to speak because of the possible grammar mistakes
3 – expand my vocabulary to continue working in consulting business all over the world
And during our lessons we archived it on 100%, 100% and 70% now and “work in progress”.
Advantages of working with James:
– Native speaker – faster progress
– Very extensive work experience and professional approach is felt thanks to this
– Personal training materials, which are constantly improving and progressing
– Very diverse tips on how to progress independently in between classes
– It is always a pleasure to work with a person who understands his mission
– James’ interest in student development is always felt
I highly recommend working and have progressed in English with James!
Ilya
We have been working with Jimmi since October 2021. He is an excellent teacher who is ready to adapt to your wishes. We had excellent and productive IELTS preparation classes and had wonderful conversational classes where we discussed various topics and our hobbies. It turned out that Jimmi loves music and Formula 1, just like me. Classes are fun and fruitful!
Dmitry
“Смело могу рекомендовать James кака репетитора английского языка.
Открытый и доброжелательный человек. Общение идет только на английском, так как другого языка он не знает. Объясняет все доходчиво и понятно. Преподаватель адаптирует стили ведения урока под знания ученика, знаю так как мой сын также учился у James.
Нет напряжения и отношения- я учитель, ты ученик. С James ты изучаешь настоящий английский –английский.
Nikita Mukhin
После 2,5 лет в международной школе у 12- летнего сына был приличный уровень английского, поэтому когда мы прервали обучение там, стали искать репетитора “native speaker”. Джимми Монк стал настоящей находкой для нас! Два урока в неделю по скайпу в течение года позволили не только сохранить набранный уровень, но и существенно продвинуться в лексике. Очень важно, что сын слышал от учителя “настоящий британский английский”, не отягощенный акцентом.
Через год, вернувшись в международную школу, сын смог успешно сдать вступительный тест и не испытывал значительных сложностей в общении с преподавателями и своими позврослевшими англоговорящими одноклассниками. Спасибо Джимми за это!
Polina Mark and Kira
Yulia Anisakharova,
When I started learning English with James my speaking skills were so poor, that I asked him to work on General English instead of Marketing. I felt very uncomfortable while speaking. Months were passing by, James was providing me with such complex topics, which I almost never speak about in Russian. I struggled with discussing them. But in 3 months I was able to easily go through a job interview! I haven’t even realised when I became such confident! And James provided me with useful idioms, such expressions that natives use, like “I’m in between jobs” instead of “I don’t work currently”. Also, I want to mention that James is an incredibly interesting person to talk to! He has more than 20 years of travelling experience and so many brilliant stories to tell from there! So I’m very happy that I could learn from him!
Yulia Anisakharova,
Moscow, Russia
Sergei
Business English was what I wanted, But not just business I wanted pacifically Law. And James organized a perfect course for me and gave me all the vocabulary and grammar used for law. We studied for 6 months. What I like about James is he will just do things as and when needed. We work on my pronunciation and fluency and confidence It only took 6 months to get my fluency perfect. James is a great language coach and I advise anyone that choosing James would be the right decision. Really thank you, James
