Viv Quarry's upper-intermediate/advanced
vocabulary practice (www.vivquarry.com)
'Use'
Student's
name _________________________ Date
___________________
Note! The words in CAPITALS and between
slashes (/ /) represent the pronunciation of the word according to Viv's phonetic
symbols.
'Use sth.'
can be a verb and a noun meaning 'help sb to do sth.' However, the
pronunciation is different:
Verb = To
use sth. /YOOZ/ Noun = the
use of sth. /YUWS/
In the past
and past participle, the pronunciation of 'ed' is /D/ eg. It is used /YOOZD/
Examples of
'use' as a normal verb:
Please use
a pencil to fill in this form. /YOOZ/
This word
has various uses. /YUWSIZ/
He used
his t-shirt to clean the windscreen. /YOOZD/
'Used to
(do sth.)' is a structure concerned with discontinued past habits and states.
It is unstressed and is pronounced /YOOSTUH/ in all forms except in final
position where it becomes /YOOSTOO/.
+ I used
to live in London. /YOOSTUHLIV/ (past state - I don't live there now)
+ She used
to go out every Friday. /YOOSTUHGOW/ (past habit - she doesn't go out on
Fridays now)
- He didn't
use to like fish. /YOOSTUHLAIK/ (past state - now he likes fish)
- We didn't
use to have to do this. /YOOSTUHAVTUHDOO/ (past habit - now we have to do
it)
Y/N? Did
you use to work for BP? /YOOSTUHWERK/ (They don't work for BP now)
WH? What
did you use to do at the weekends? /YOOSTUHDOO/ (When they were a child)
Do you have
to get up early? No, I don't, but I used to. /YOOSTOO/
If an
action only happened once, this structure is impossible and is replaced by the
simple past .
I met her
for the first time in July and we went out to the cinema.
'Would' has
a similar function to 'used to' but it only applies to past habits - NOT
STATES, and gives an impression of nostalgia.
My mother
would always read me a story before I went to sleep = My mother used to read me
a story
For states
only 'used to' is possible:
We used to
live in London - NOT 'WE WOULD LIVE...'
'Be used to
sth' is a structure which means 'accustomed'. It can be followed by a noun or
verb in the gerund form and appears in various tenses.
+ I've been
here for 2 years and so I'm used to the hot weather. /YOOSTADZUH/
+ After two
years in the Middle East I was used to working in hot weather. /YOOSTUH/
- I've only
been here for 2 weeks, so I'm not used to the hot weather. /YOOSTUH/
- It was
difficult at first because I wasn't used to getting up early. /YOOSTUH/
Y/N? Are you
used to the hot weather yet? /YOOSTUH/
'Wh'
questions with the 'be used to' structure are unusual.
'Get used
to sth/doing sth.' has a similar meaning, but the focus is on CHANGING
SITUATIONS.
+ I've been
here for 2 days, so I'm getting used to the hot weather.
+ After two
days in the Middle East I was getting used to working in hot weather.
- I
couldn't get used to waking up early.
Y/N? Did it
take you long to get used to the hot weather?
WH? How
long did it take you to get used to driving on the left?