Used to + refexive verb

Jack B.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Used to + refexive verb

Some of the examples and test answers of used to + reflexive verb use avoir l'habitude de  and some dont.  I cannot find any explanation for this.

Asked 3 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Jack , 

I have checked the lesson and the Kwiz questions and cannot find 'avoir l'habitude de' in any of them.

So can you point me towards where you saw this?

I would say that 'avoir l'habitude de faire quelque chose' is more 'to be in the habit of doing something' whereas 'used to do' is more something that happened in the past which was the point of the lesson.

 

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Jack,

If you were to use the "report" button in the top left of the lesson, this action would get the attention of the team who are able to address this point for you.

It's not possible to address this for you on the language forum.

Jim

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

There is more than one way to say "was/were used to". One is with "avoir l'habitude de" and another one is using the imparfait. The imparfait expresses a state in the past, i.e., something that's prevalent for a certain duration. This can be expressed in English as "was used to":

Pendant le lockdown, je me levais plus tard. -- During the lockdown I used to get up later.

But you can also use "avoir l'habitude de" to make it explicit or express a habit that's not just in the past:

Pendant le lockdown j'avais l'habitude de me lever plus tard. -- During the lockdown I used to (=had the habit) get up later.

J'ai l'habitude de me lever tôt. -- I use to get up early. I usually get up early.

Jack B. asked:

Used to + refexive verb

Some of the examples and test answers of used to + reflexive verb use avoir l'habitude de  and some dont.  I cannot find any explanation for this.

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