Caalii
Yooyyaa! Gara sagantaa barnootaa How do I… tti baga nagaan dhufte! An Caaliidha. Akkasumas Saam na waliin jirti

Sam
Hello, everybody. Welcome!

Caalii
Kutaa kana keessatti, akkamitti siriitti waa’ee ... akka gaafannu ilaalla. Mee tilmaamuu dandeessaa! Namoonni muraasnii yeroo boqonnasaniitti maal hojjechuu akka isaan gammachiisu ‘hobbies’ wayita dubbatan caqasuun mee ha jalqabnu. Waa’ee fedhii isaaniimoo waa’ee yeroo boqonnaasani waan hojjechuun isaan gammachiisu haasa’aa akka jiran adda baafadhu.

A.I used to play football with my friends, but now I don’t.
B.I used to watch a lot of films when I was a child.
C.I didn’t use to listen to music much when I was young.

Caalii
Egaa, waa’ee fedhii isaanii yookaan waa’ee waan hojjechuun isaan gammachiisu ‘hobbies’ kan ammaa moo kan yeroo ijoolummaasanii haasa’aa jiruu? That’s right, when they were children!

Sam
Absolutely! Now let’s have a look at the language they used.

Caalii
Yes! Himoota kanneen keessatti, namoonni waa’ee amala isaanii durii ‘past habit’ – hojiiwwan dhaabbataatti hojjetan ykn utuu hinhojetin hafan hunda haasa’aa turan.

I used to play football with my friends.
I used to watch a lot of films.

Caalii
Did you hear it? Amala darbeefi gochaan irradeddeebiiin rawwatu tokko ibsuuf gaale ‘used to’ ‘gochaan ture’ jedhu fayyadamani.

Sam
Yes, and did you hear what we put after ‘used to’?

Caalii
Let’s listen again! Yeroo kanattti, ‘used to’ itti aane kan dhufu haa caqasnu:

I used to play football with my friends.
I used to watch a lot of films.

Caalii
What did you hear? Gaalee ‘used to’ booda, tokko tokkoon dubbatootaa xumura ykn gocha fayyadamani. Akkuma caqasne, taphachuu ‘play’, daawwachuu ‘watch’ akkasumas xumura kamiyyu as galchu ni dandeessa. Gaaleen ‘used to’ kan waan darbe agarsiisuu waan ta’eef xumura as galu akka jirutti fayydamna malee jijjirra itti gochuun nu hin barbaachsisu.

Sam
Now, let’s quickly practise the pronunciation together! The important thing to notice here is that we pronounce ‘used to’ together, not like it’s two separate words. Repeat after me:
used to…
I used to…
I used to play football.
I used to watch films.

Caalii
Great! Amma, kan dubbataan tokko jedhe xiqqoo adda ture. Jechaa negetiiv ta’e fayyadamuun waa’ee waan gochaa hinturre tokko dubbate. Mee irra deebinee caqasuun akkamitti waan kana akka ibse haa ilaallu:

I didn’t use to listen to music much.

Caalii
Caqastee, ‘use to’ dura buusuun ‘didn’t’ fayyadame? Ittaansuunis akkuma beekamu xumura itti dabale. Simple!

Sam
Yes, it is! Let’s practise the pronunciation together. Repeat after me:
didn’t use to…
I didn’t use to...
I didn’t use to listen to music much.

Caalii
Thanks, Sam. Amma amalakee durii akkatti dubbattu barateetta. Yeroon amma ammo yeroo itti shaakkala gootuudha.
Ijoolummaakeetti fiilmii yeroo baay’ee daawwattee akka hinbeekne godhii yaadi. Jechoonni si barbaachisan ‘watch films’ kan jedhuudha. Akkasumas kun negetiiv ta’u isaas yaadadhu. Boodarra debikee kan Saam waliin walbira qabi ilaali.

Sam
I didn’t use to watch films.

Caalii
Did you say the same?
Ammammoo muuziiqaa caqasuun amalakee ijoolummaa akka ta’e godhi yaadi. Akkamitti dubbata? Jechoota ‘listen to music’ jedhu fayyadamu yaadadhu. Boodarra debikee kan Saam waliin walbira qabi ilaali.

Sam
I used to listen to music.

Caalii
Did you say the same?
Dhumarratti, kubba miillaa taphachuun amalakoo yeroo ijoolumaati jedhii yaadi. Akkam jette dubbattaa? Jechoota ‘play football’ jedhu fayyadamu yaadadhu dubarra walbira qabi ilaali.

Sam
I used to play football.

Well done! Now you know how to talk about past habits, so find a friend and tell them about your childhood hobbies!

Caalii
Good idea! Sam, what were your childhood hobbies?

Sam
Well, I used to play the piano…I used to read a lot… I didn’t use to watch much television…