How do native English speakers say "used to"?

Native speakers reduce "used to" to "usta" (ˈjuːstə) in natural speech. Something that was a habit or true in the past but is no longer the case.

used to → usta | Reduction

Q: What is the connected speech form of "used to"?

"used to" becomes "usta" — a reduction pattern. In casual speech, the 'd' sound in 'used' is often not pronounced, and 'to' reduces to a short 'uh' sound, making the phrase sound like 'usta'.

used to → usta ˈjuːstə Reduction

Something that was a habit or true in the past but is no longer the case.

In casual speech, the 'd' sound in 'used' is often not pronounced, and 'to' reduces to a short 'uh' sound, making the phrase sound like 'usta'.

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Step 2 · Reveal

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STANDARD FORM → REDUCED FORM

used to → usta

ˈjuːstə

Something that was a habit or true in the past but is no longer the case.

In casual speech, the 'd' sound in 'used' is often not pronounced, and 'to' reduces to a short 'uh' sound, making the phrase sound like 'usta'.

Step 3 · Context

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Example 1

I used to live in New York.

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Example 2

She used to hate vegetables, but now she loves them.

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Example 3

They used to visit their grandparents every summer.

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Example 4

I usta think that show was boring, but it's gotten good.

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Example 5

He usta work here, didn't he?

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Step 6 · Result

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used to → usta