Now is your chance to use this week's grammar!
Tell us about how you have changed over the years. Maybe there are things which you used to do but which you don't do now or things that you didn't use to do but which you do now. Let us know and we will publish the most interesting five.
Thank you for sending your comments. This topic has now closed.
Su, Taiwan
I used to get up late when I was a student. That's why I were always the one who attended to the classes at last. But now I get used to getting up around 6 or 7 AM., I feel I can do more things in a day than before.
Nuala says:
Hi Su,
I wish I could be like you! I hate getting up in the morning and love having a long lie-in at the weekend.
Your first sentence is perfect I used to get up late and you've almost got the structure 'be used to something' right when you say ' But now I get used to getting up around 6 or 7 AM' but you need part of the verb 'to be' to complete this structure. So it should be: 'But now I'm used to getting up' or by using 'be getting used to something', you could say 'I'm getting used to getting up' (but I think you'll agree that using 'getting' twice in the one sentence does sound a bit clumsy).
Thanks for writing in!
Nuala
Claire, France
I didn't use to speak english. But now for my current job, I have to discuss in english with colleagues. By looking for web sites to improve myself, I found this one. I didn't use to send message with Internet, but there is first time for all!
Nuala says:
Hi Claire,
Welcome to the world of internet messaging!
Your first example of 'used to' is perfect 'I didn't use to speak' and I'm so glad to hear English is part of your working life now!
Your negative example 'I didn't use to send' is also correct. Well done!
A couple of little things you might want to change to improve your piece:
'message with Internet' should be: 'internet messages'
'but there is first time for all!' I know what you mean here but the usual expression in English is 'but there's a first time for everything!'
You've also got capital letters where you don't need them on 'Internet' and you don't have them where you should on 'english'.
I'm glad you plucked up the courage and decided to write to us. We're honoured to be the recipient of your first message.
Nuala
Murphy, Vietnam
Greeting from Vietnam I used to smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day. I didn't usually use to do excercises but now I do it quite often. I fill much helthier and work effectively alot. My habits has been really changed over the years.
Nuala says:
Hi Murphy,
Greetings from London! Glad to hear you're so much healthier these days!
You've got the grammar just right here: I used to smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day. But later on you've got two expressions that mean the same thing – 'usually' and 'use to'. Instead, you could say 'I didn't usually do exercises' or 'I didn't use to do exercises', or even 'I didn't usually exercise'.
A couple of other things to watch out for – spelling and subject/verb agreement - excercises, fill and helthier are spelt wrongly and 'alot' is actually two separate words (but I'd say 'I work a lot more effectively').
'My habits has' should be 'habits have' and there's no need for 'been' in that sentence. So it would be better to say: 'My habits have really changed over the years'.
Keep up the good work on the health front!
Nuala
Michael, Thailand
I used to think that money was all important, but now I have a baby child I understand that there are things which are far more important than money.
Nuala says:
Hi Michael,
What a simple but straight-to-the-point message. I think you're absolutely right! And your grammar's 100% spot on too! This is a lovely example of 'used to' to talk about past habits: I used to think that money was all important
Good luck with fatherhood!
Nuala
Bin, The Philippines
I used to play football when I was young. But I didn't use to play football anymore. I think that my best friend has changed his habits over the years. Example he used to like pop music, but he likes the rock. It he didn't use to like last year.
Nuala says:
Hi,
I'm the opposite Bin. I didn't use to do anything sporty but now I ride my bike to work every day.
Your first sentence is perfect 'I used to play football when I was young', well done! But there's no present tense form of 'use to' so instead of saying 'I didn't use to play football anymore', you should say 'I don't play football anymore'
You friend's musical taste has certainly changed over the years! You need to add an extra word 'for' to make 'For example' and take off a word 'the', so it's 'he likes rock'.
I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to say in your final sentence but if it's that your friend has only recently begun to like rock, you could say 'He didn't like it last year'.
Thanks for writing in!
Nuala
