No inglês, "used to" é uma expressão usada para falar sobre hábitos ou situações que aconteciam regularmente no passado, mas que não acontecem mais. É uma maneira de indicar algo que era comum ou habitual.
Estrutura do "used to"
A estrutura é simples:Sujeito + used to + verbo no infinitivo.
Exemplos práticos para executivos:
I used to work in sales(Eu costumava trabalhar em vendas).
We used to have weekly meetings(Nós costumávamos ter reuniões semanais).
He used to manage the marketing department(Ele costumava gerenciar o departamento de marketing).
Como usar "used to" no dia a dia corporativo
Imagine que você precisa falar sobre algo que era comum no passado em seu ambiente de trabalho, mas que mudou:
We used to use spreadsheets, but now we have automated systems(Nós costumávamos usar planilhas, mas agora temos sistemas automatizados).
The company used to focus on local clients, but now we are global(A empresa costumava focar em clientes locais, mas agora somos globais).
Esses exemplos mostram como você pode aplicar "used to" para descrever mudanças em processos ou estratégias dentro do contexto de negócios.
Negação com "used to"
Para negar, basta usar "didn't" seguido de "use to" (sem o "d" no "used"):
We didn’t use to have a marketing department
(Nós não costumávamos ter um departamento de marketing).
Perguntas com "used to"
Para fazer perguntas, também se usa "did":
Did you use to work in finance?
(Você costumava trabalhar em finanças?).
Conclusão
"Used to" é uma expressão útil para qualquer executivo que queira falar sobre mudanças no passado. Com ele, você pode descrever como as coisas eram e como evoluíram no ambiente corporativo.
Danny used to: Exemplos do cotidiano de Danny mostrando o uso de "used to"
Você ouvirá um áudio e lerá um texto sobre Danny, comparando seus hábitos passados e presentes. Preste atenção no uso de "used to" para descrever o que ele fazia no passado. Depois, veja como seus hábitos mudaram. Sua tarefa é identificar essas mudanças e pensar em exemplos semelhantes da sua própria vida para praticar.
Danny two years ago
Danny used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day but he didn't use to smoke a pipe.
Danny used to watch TV for 6 hours every day but he never used to listen to the radio.
Danny used to eat pizza twice a day and he never used to eat salad.
Danny used to drink 2 liters of beer every night but he didn't use to drink beer during the day except on Sunday.
Danny used to shower twice a week and he didn't use to brush his teeth after every meal.
Danny used to drive to work and he didn't use to walk anywhere unless it was necessary.
Danny used to eat meat 5 times a week and he never used to eat fish.
Danny used to have bacon for breakfast 6 days a week but he didn't use to eat bacon on Sunday.
Danny used to have sausages for breakfast every Sunday but he didn't used to drink tea on Sunday: only coffee.
Danny used to get up at 10 o'clock every day but he didn't use to go to bed until 2am.
Danny now
Danny doesn't smoke anymore but sometimes, he still wants to.
Danny still watches TV but he only watches it for about an hour a day.
Danny doesn't eat pizza anymore but he does eat salad and, once in a while, he goes to a sushi bar.
Danny doesn't drink beer anymore but he still drinks wine every now and again.
Danny brushes his teeth 3 times a day and he showers at least once a day.
Danny cycles to work and he runs once a day for 20 minutes.
Danny still drives but only if he has to go somewhere that is far away.
Danny doesn't eat meat anymore and he eats fish at least twice a week.
Danny only eats fruit for breakfast and he doesn't eat sausages anymore.
Danny gets up at 7am every day to go running and swimming but he still doesn't start work until 11 o'clock.
Now Danny goes to bed at 11pm he doesn't go to bed late anymore.
Exercises
Game
Game Instructions:
You will see facts about four famous people: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos.
Your task is to correctly match each fact with the right person and form a sentence using "used to."
For each correct match, you will earn 1 point.
Write down your answers, and once you are done, compare them with the answer key (provided at the end).
Jeff Bezos
Donald Trump
Elon Musk
Sentences:
--------- used to play baseball and football during high school.
--------- used to be bullied at school and was very introverted.
--------- used to work as a janitor at a lumber mill.
--------- used to organize beauty pageants.
--------- used to spend a lot of time working on science experiments in his garage.
--------- used to work at McDonald's while in high school.
--------- used to work with his father in real estate during his teenage years.
--------- used to spend long hours working on side projects while at university.
--------- used to study at the New York Military Academy in high school.
--------- used to design and sell video games when he was 12 years old.
Donald Trump used to play baseball and football during high school.
Elon Musk used to be bullied at school and was very introverted.
Elon Musk used to work as a janitor at a lumber mill.
Trump used to organize beauty pageants.
Jeff Bezos used to spend a lot of time working on science experiments in his garage.
Jeff Bezos used to work at McDonald's while in high school.
Donald Trump used to work with his father in real estate during his teenage years.
Elon Musk used to spend long hours working on side projects while at university.
Donal Trumo used to study at the New York Military Academy in high school.
Elon Musk used to design and sell video games when he was 12 years old.
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