Used to/would

EXERCISE № 238. Change the statements according to the model.

Model: I don’t work on Saturday. – I used to work on Saturday when I was young (last year, when I lived in Liverpool….).

1. I never take a taxi to go to work. 2. I hardly ever watch TV now. 3. People do not very often go to the cinema today. 4. She is old and sick. 5. She has few close friends. 6. She doesn’t read any papers. 7. He is always late for work. 8. We don’t go out much nowadays. 9. Classes at school begin at nine. 10. My brother doesn’t come home until eleven. 11. He is a University professor now. 12. The place is so nice and clean! 13. She is so pretty and attractive. 14. The Tower of London is a museum now. 15. London is one of the biggest cities in the world. 16. There is a big supermarket near our house.

EXERCISE № 239. Read the text.

Part I. Say what the difference in meaning is.

1. I used to eat red meat.

2. I'm used to eating red meat.

3. Sue says: “I grew up on a farm, so we always had masses of meat and dairy products.”

We used to eat red meat nearly every day of week, and we used to have butter and cream with everything. But a few years ago I became much more conscious of my diet. I don't eat red meat at all now and very little butter or cream. I'm used to eating salads and vegetables instead, in fact I'm used to a much lighter diet.'

Part II. Practice.

Match the sentences about Sue. Join the sentences with but and make statements about her life now, using used to.

Model: Sue used to eat a lot of meat but now she is mainly a vegetarian.

PAST HABITS ate a lot of meat had milk and cream with everything went on holiday with her family lived on a farm drove a Fiat

PRESENT HABITS goes on holiday with friends lives in a flat in Manchester cycles everywhere is mainly vegetarian drinks tea and coffee without milk

Part III.

At the moment Sue has an assignment in California. She finds the lifestyle there very different from Britain. Imagine you are Sue. Use her notes to say what you aren't used to in California.

Model: I'm not used to driving everywhere.

DRIVING

- It's amazing. People drive everywhere, even to post a letter.

- Don't like the speed limit of 55 miles an hour. Hate driving so slowly.

- Must remember to drive on the right. I always get in the wrong side of the car.

- There are freeways everywhere. It's strange to drive from point A to point B without ever passing a traffic light.

SHOPPING

- Marvellous shopping malls where you can buy everything and anything.

- You can shop at any time of the day or night.

WEATHER

- Seems to be sunny all the time.

- You can sunbathe any time you like.

(Everybody has a pool!)

EXERCISE № 240. This is the way David describes his first term at university. Read his account of being a student. Then speak about your experience of being a first-year student.

'At the moment it's a bit hard because I'm not used to living away from home. I have to do everything for myself, like cooking, washing and ironing. Mum used to do all that! Studying here is very different from school. We have to choose which lectures to go and plan our own timetable. At school they used to tell you what to do and when to do it, but here you have more freedom. I'm not used to that so I often leave my essays to the last minute. Then I have to work right through the night, which is something I've never done before.'