过去常常……(现在已不这样)(expressing a frequent or continuous action in the past)：They～play football， didn't they?他们过去常踢足球，对吗?U～you to know him? 你过去对他了解吗?Didn't there use(d) to be a church at the corner of the street?在大街拐角处不是曾有一座教堂吗?It～to be said that... 过去常说…… I don't go to see the film so often as I～(to). 我不像过去那样常看电影了。

【说明】used to 的否定式是used not to，did not use to， use(d)n't to;不用did引起的否定式、疑问式比较陈旧而且正式，如：I usedn't to like her. Used you to work there? There used to be a theatre， use(d)n't there?

【用法】used to和would都可用来表示过去的习惯和状况。used to 有“但现在已不……”之意，可用于故事叙述的开始，而would则不能用于叙述的开始，如：We used to swim every day when we were children. We would run down to the river and jump in... (我们小时候每天下午都游泳。我们往往跑到下面河边纵身一跳……)此外，would另含“意愿”在内，因此表示过去的习惯和状况时，往往有“主观的意愿”，如：He used to catch cold in early winter. (他过去初冬时节常感冒。)这里如果用would就不妥了。