1.26 Used

Used is the past and past participle of the verb use (utilizar, hacer uso), e.g.:

Who has used my bike? (¿Quién ha utilizado mi bici?)

Used has two other meanings:

• First it goes with many different verbs to refer to repeated or continuing actions or situations in past time, e.g.:

I used to play tennis. (Antes jugaba a tenis.)

On Sundays they used to go for long walks. (Los domingos solían hacer largas caminatas.)

They didn't use to complain so much. (No solían quejarse tanto.)

There used to be a farm here. (Antes había una granja aquí.)

A: Did Bill use to live in Manchester? (¿Antes Bill vivía en Manchester?)

B: No, he used to live in Liverpool. (No, antes Bill vivía en Liverpool.)





Notice that this use only refers to past time and it implies that the activity doesn't happen now. This used cannot be used of present time. We say, for example: I usually walk to work. (Normalmente voy al trabajo caminando.) We cannot say (about present time): I use to walk to work. Notice that you will sometimes find would for repeated or continuing actions in the past (but not for states), e.g.: On Sundays they would go for long walks. (Los domingos solían hacer largas caminatas.) (Not: there would be a farm here.) (Not: Bill would live in Liverpool.)





We cannot use used or would when a definite time is specified or to say how often something happened, e.g.:





We used to/would go to Paris last year.

We used to/would go to Paris several times.




• The second used is an adjective (acostumbrado), followed by to; it goes after be or get and the sentence can refer to past time, present time or future time, e.g.:




Pat soon got used to training in the evenings. (Pat se acostumbró pronto a entrenar por las tardes.)

I am used to getting up early. (Estoy acostumbrada a levantarme temprano.)

Are they used to working underground? (¿Están acostumbrados a trabajar bajo tierra?)

Don't worry! You'll soon get used to wearing a uniform. (¡No te preocupes! Pronto te acostumbrarás a llevar uniforme.)