What did the UK, Italy and Japan use to do?
Used to + the base form of a verb describes something that was true or happened regularly in the past, but is not true or does not happen now. It talks about old habits and old states that have changed.
Before the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) began, the UK, Italy and Japan each used to have their own separate plan for a new fighter jet. Now, the three countries work together on one shared programme instead.
subject + used to + base verb: Italy used to work alone.
subject + didn’t use to + base verb: They didn’t use to work together.
Did + subject + use to + base verb?: Did Japan use to have its own plan?
Careful: used to is only for things that happened regularly or were true for a period in the past, not for a single, one-time event. A single event just uses the simple past. Compare: Italy used to design its jets alone (a repeated situation, over years) vs. The three countries signed a new contract on 3 July (one single event, never “used to sign”).
Try these
Rewrite each sentence using used to, but only if the sentence describes a repeated habit or a past state, not a single event. If it’s a single event, explain why used to doesn’t fit and keep the simple past instead.
- In the past, the UK had its own separate plan for a fighter jet.
- On 3 July, the three countries signed a new contract worth £4.6 billion.
- Before GCAP started, Italy worked alone on its own jet design.
- Now the three countries work as one team, but in the past, this was different.
- Did Japan have its own fighter jet plan before GCAP began?
- The UK used to have its own separate plan for a fighter jet. A repeated, long-term situation: used to fits.
- The three countries signed a new contract worth £4.6 billion. This is one single event on one date, so it stays in the simple past, never “used to sign.”
- Italy used to work alone on its own jet design. A situation that continued over a period of time: used to fits.
- They didn’t use to work as one team. The negative form describes a past state that has now changed.
- Did Japan use to have its own fighter jet plan? The question form asks about a past habit or state.
Watch out for these mistakes
- ✗ I use to fly small planes. → ✓ I used to fly small planes. (Don’t drop the “d”: it’s always used to, in every sentence, even negatives and questions where the main verb loses its own past tense.)
- ✗ They used to flying together. → ✓ They used to fly together. (The verb after used to is always the base form, never -ing.)
- Don’t confuse this with be used to + -ing, a different structure meaning “familiar with something in the present”. For example, She is used to flying long routes means she does it often now and finds it normal, the opposite meaning of our past-habit used to.
Now make it real
Think about your own flying or work. Write 1–2 true sentences about something you used to do but don’t do now: a route you used to fly, an old routine, an aircraft type you used to work on.
Before you check, ask yourself:
- Does your sentence describe something that was true or regular in the past, but is different now?
- Did you use used to + the base form of the verb (not -ing, not the past tense)?
- Does it start with a capital letter and end with a full stop?
I used to fly only short domestic routes, but now I fly long-haul international flights.
Our airline used to check in passengers only at the desk, but now most people check in online.
Now rewrite your sentence to make it clearer or more specific: add a date, a place, or a reason things changed.
CEFR Level A2 / ICAO Level 3
Want more practice at this level? Browse our CEFR A2 archive. Every piece on the tag is written for beginners.
