Life in the Past: Used To, the Past Simple and -ed Endings

1Why this matters

Our grandparents are living history books. When you ask them how life used to be, you learn how much, and how quickly, Rwanda has changed. To hold that conversation in English, you need two tools: used to for past habits, and the past simple with time expressions for single events. You will also learn to pronounce the -ed ending correctly, because it has three different sounds.

2Reading: When Grandmother Was Young

This is an original interview by Ganzaa. Umutoni, an S2 student in Huye, recorded it for a class project.

Umutoni: Grandmother, what did you use to do every morning when you were my age?

Grandmother: I used to wake up before the sun. My sisters and I walked to the spring with clay pots on our heads, and we didn't use to complain, because every girl did the same. Then I used to grind sorghum on a flat stone until my arms ached.

Umutoni: And your brothers?

Grandmother: They used to take the cows to graze and milk them in the evening. In my family, girls were not allowed to milk the cows. That was the boys' work, and nobody asked why.

Umutoni: Did you use to go to school?

Grandmother: I finished primary school. I loved arithmetic. But when I was thirteen, my father said that secondary school was for my brothers. I cried for a week. Two years later, I started helping my mother at the market, and I counted every franc faster than the traders!

Umutoni: What has changed the most?

Grandmother: Everything! We used to believe that a girl who studied too much would never marry. Now your mother is a veterinary doctor, and she milks more cows than your grandfather ever did. Your father cooks on Sundays. And you, my child, want to be an engineer. In my day we used to say, "Stay at home." Today I say, "Go."

Check your understanding

3Grammar: used to and the past simple

used to + base verb

We use used to for past habits and states that are no longer true.

After did or didn't, write use to without -d, because did already shows the past. Compare: She used to walk but Did she use to walk?

Past simple + time adverbials

For a single, finished event, use the past simple, often with a time expression: in 1975, two years later, when I was thirteen, last month, ago, yesterday.

• When I was thirteen, my father said that secondary school was for my brothers. (once)
• Two years later, I started helping at the market. (once)

Worked example

Which form fits? My grandfather ___ (walk) ten kilometres to school every day. / In 1978 he ___ (move) to Kigali.

1. "every day" = a repeated past habit that no longer happens → used to walk.
2. "In 1978" = one finished event at a stated time → moved.

Do not confuse used to + base verb (past habit) with be used to + -ing, which means "accustomed to": I am used to waking up early.

4Sounds: three ways to say -ed

Worked example. How many syllables does started have? The verb start ends in /t/, so -ed adds a syllable: start-ed, two syllables. But walked stays one syllable: /wɔːkt/.

Used to is pronounced /ˈjuːstə/, with an s sound, not a z.

5Speaking and listening task: interview an elder

Interview an older relative or neighbour about life when they were young. Prepare six questions, at least three with Did you use to...? Take notes on what they did, who did which jobs, and what has changed. Report back to your class in one minute.

Sample questions: Did you use to walk to school? What did girls use to do after school? What did boys use to do? Were you allowed to choose your own subjects? When did you first see a mobile phone? What is the biggest change you have seen?

Model report opening: "My grandfather used to herd cattle before school. He didn't use to cook, because in his home only women cooked. In 1990 he moved to Musanze, and ..."

This interview can become part of the unit project: a short documentary about gender roles then and now.

Practice