Episode 17: I Used to Dream

used to — Young Walt Disney, 1920s (A2-B1)

Grammar Box

Meaning: We use used to for past habits and states that don’t continue now. It shows contrast between past and present.

Form: used to + base verb (I/you/he/she/it/we/they used to + verb)

Example 1: I used to play piano. (past habit, not now)

Example 2: This used to be a forest. (past state, changed now)

Common mistake: Wrong: I used to lived there. Better: I used to live there.

The Question

Luna wrote: “When I was young, I play outside every day.” She paused. “But now I don’t. How do I show that?” Her watch glowed warmly. Professor Wisdom appeared. “We have a special phrase for past habits that don’t continue: used to. Let’s meet a young man who used to struggle but never stopped dreaming.”

The Journey

The world shifted. Luna stood in a small garage in Kansas City. 1922. A young man sat at a drawing table. He was Walt Disney, just twenty-one years old. He was thin. His clothes were worn. His hands were stained with ink.

Walt used to live on a farm in Missouri. He used to wake up at 3:30 AM to deliver newspapers. He used to draw animals he saw around the farm. Drawing was his escape. Drawing was his joy.

Now he was trying to make animated cartoons. He had started a small company called Laugh-O-Gram. He used to have six employees. They used to work together creating short films. They used to believe success was coming soon.

But Kansas City didn’t care about cartoons. Theaters didn’t want his films. Investors didn’t trust him. Month by month, money ran out. One by one, his employees left. He used to eat meals at his studio. Now he couldn’t afford food. He used to have dreams of glory. Now he had debt and failure.

Walt’s company went bankrupt. He lost everything. He used to have a business. Now he had nothing. People said he should give up. They said animation had no future. They said he was wasting his time.

But Walt didn’t quit. He had forty dollars in his pocket. He bought a train ticket to Hollywood. He used to be a businessman. Now he was just a broke young man with a suitcase and a dream.

In California, Walt started again. He created Mickey Mouse. He used to struggle for every dollar. Now opportunities began to open. He used to work alone. Now talented people joined him. Success didn’t come quickly. But it came.

Luna watched young Walt drawing late at night. She could smell the ink. She could hear his pencil scratching paper. She could feel his determination mixed with doubt. This used to be a nobody. This became a legend.

The Insight

“Listen to how we talk about Walt’s past,” the Professor said. “‘He used to live on a farm.’ ‘He used to have employees.’ ‘He used to struggle.’ This phrase shows actions or states that were true before but aren’t true now.”

He continued, “Used to has a special meaning. It’s different from Past Simple. ‘I worked there’ is just a fact. ‘I used to work there’ means I worked there regularly, but I don’t anymore. It shows contrast between past and present.”

“We use this for past habits and past states. ‘I used to play piano.’ ‘This used to be a forest.’ The action or state is finished. It doesn’t continue to now.”

Practice Zone

More Examples:

1. “I used to drink coffee, but now I prefer tea.” — Changed habit.
2. “She used to live in London before she moved here.” — Past state.
3. “They used to be friends, but they don’t talk now.” — Changed relationship.
4. “This building used to be a school.” — Past function.
5. “Did you use to play sports when you were young?” — Question form.
6. “He didn’t use to like vegetables, but now he does.” — Negative form.

Exercises:

1. Fill in the blank: I _____ (use to) ride my bike to work, but now I drive.

2. Choose the correct:
   a) I used to lived in Paris.
   b) I used to live in Paris.

3. Make a sentence with used to:
   Past: She smoked. Now: She doesn’t smoke.
   → She _____ smoke.

4. Question form: Write a question: _ you ___ to play video games?

5. Your turn: Write a sentence about something you used to do but don’t do now.

Answer Key:

1. used to ride
2. b) I used to live in Paris (base form after “used to”)
3. She used to smoke
4. Did you use to play video games? (no “d” in “use” for questions)
5. Check: Does your sentence show something you did before but don’t do now? Examples: “I used to watch cartoons every day.” “I used to be afraid of dogs.” “We used to visit my grandparents every summer.”

The Lesson

They returned to Luna’s room. Luna smiled. “I used to think grammar was boring. But now I see it tells stories.” The Professor nodded. “Yes. And like Walt Disney, what we used to be doesn’t define what we can become. The past shapes us, but it doesn’t trap us.”