Used to vs Used for

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Used to' is used to talk about past habits or states, while 'used for' is used to indicate the purpose or function of something.

Last updated: March 21, 2024 • 928 views

Used to

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to talk about past habits or states.

Use 'used to' to describe past habits or states. For example, 'I used to play the piano when I was younger.'

Examples:

She used to live in New York.
I used to eat a lot of junk food.
He used to be a teacher.
They used to go hiking every weekend.
We used to have a dog.

Show examples from the web [+]

It is better not to use "used to" in questions or negative forms; however, this is sometimes done in informal spoken English. It is better to ask questions and create ...
We use 'used to' for something that happened regularly in the past but no longer happens. I used to smoke a packet a day but I stopped two years ago. Ben used ...
There is a little confusion on how to use the words use to and used to. One reason for the confusion is that it is sometimes used as a verb, and sometimes used ...
A forma verbal used to + infinitivo é utilizada para expressar um hábito no passado que não ocorre mais no presente. Essa forma é utilizada exclusivamente no ...

Alternatives:

was accustomed to
was in the habit of
would
had the custom of

Used for

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate the purpose or function of something.

Use 'used for' to explain the purpose or function of something. For example, 'This knife is used for cutting vegetables.'

Examples:

This room is used for meetings.
The hammer is used for driving in nails.
The computer is used for work.
The car is used for transportation.
The oven is used for baking.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 20, 2024

Apr 24, 2023 ... When you ask Robert a question about a screwdriver, you say "What is this screwdriver used for?" or you can shorten the sentence by saying "What ...
Sep 6, 2022 ... Did you mean: I forgot the email address I used for a Dropbox account. What can I do?
Nov 11, 2022 ... I know python can be used for hacking tools, data analysis, and c++ can do anything from operating systems to just another it anything And js, html, and css ...
Sep 6, 2022 ... I forgot the email address I used for a Dropbox account. What can I do? Long ago i created a dropbox account when i purchased new device ...
Mar 3, 2010 ... "No disk that can be used for recovering the system disk can be found". I am try to restore an system image from a 160G hard drive to a new ...
Jun 14, 2023 ... The database is used for transactional file locking. To enhance performance, please configure memcache, if available. See the documentation.
Mar 5, 2019 ... Your app is being used for sharing. I have a very annoying issue over various PCs, its like there is an invisible overlay on the screen, when ...
Cookies and similar technologies used for security help to authenticate users, prevent fraud, and protect you as you interact with a service. The cookies and ...
Oct 7, 2024 ... Gary King and Richard Nielsen. 2019. “Why Propensity Scores Should Not Be Used for Matching.” Political Analysis, 27, 4, Pp. 435-454.
Dec 13, 2019 ... ... used for signing') [2019-12-08 20:09:49,934] [ERROR] : SSHException: key cannot be used for signing [2019-12-08 20:09:49,934] [ERROR] ...

Alternatives:

utilized for
employed for
utilized in
employed in

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Used to vs Used for

Used to

Used for

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