LnR 020 I used to

This is episode 20. In the recording I called it episode 19, but that's a mistake.

In this episode we will practice "I used to" and "I have to".

A granddaughter is talking with her grandmother.

A: Grandma, tell me about when you were my age. What was your life like?

B: Well, dear, I used to have to ("usta hafta") walk two miles to school in the snow, uphill, both ways.

A: Grandma, you're so funny! I know that you grew up in California, close to L.A., where it almost never snows. It's also impossible to walk to school uphill and back uphill.

B: OK, it's just an old joke. Actually, I rode the school bus. But I did have to walk uphill a little to get to the bus stop.

A: Did you have to take care of Great-Uncle Kenny? I have to babysit my little brother sometimes.

B: Yeah, I used to make his lunch in the morning, because my parents left early for work. I always made 'im a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He loved 'em! When we got home from school I used to let him have a couple of cookies. Chocolate chip were his favorites.

A: Did you have to cook dinner, too?

B: No, my mother always cooked dinner while my father read the newspaper. I used to wash the dishes after dinner, though.

A: Wash the dishes?! Didn't you have a dishwasher?

B: Nope. They got one after I left home and married your grandfather. I was their dishwasher. Real dishwashers were too expensive then.