Use today is commonly used in the sense of utilize, which shares its Latin roots with use. As a noun and verb, use is recorded in early Middle English, and ultimately derives via French from the Latin ?sus (“act of using a thing”) and ?t? (“to use”). One of the challenges of use, as we’ve already seen, is that is such a useful and highly used verb. So if you’re trying to say that the service was always great at the restaurant, you’d rely on used to and not use to. This use is exclusively used in the past tense to express this action that no longer happens. Or I used to eat an apple on the way to school every morning. For example: s he used to go to the library every day after school. Then, there’s the version of use as a verb that refers to a habitual action-that is, actions frequently done as a habit. Get grammar check, spelling help and more free! Get that essay, email, or letter to Nana over the finish line with a little writing help from Grammar Coach™.

For example: I’m used to sleeping with the lights on because I always fall asleep while reading. Or, She ‘s used to my cooking and rarely complains anymore. So if there’s something that always happened or has become customary, it would be used to. This phrase used to refers to something you’re familiar with or accustomed to. Instead, it’s about something you did habitually in the past. McWhorter points out in the Lexicon Valley podcast, “used to” is tricky because it isn’t about utilizing something. This unusual construction is a past habitual marker. But given how similar they are, it’s understandable why the decision to add that D can be so confusing. Remember as kids when we used to look forward to summer break every year? Unfortunately as we get older, we don’t have this mandated chunk of time off from work every year.īut did we use to count down the days until school was out? Or did we used to look forward to the last day of school each year?ĭespite the minor difference-literally just one letter- used to and use to are different.

The phrase hundred days refers to