I Used To, Now I, I'm Trying To: Talk About a Change in Your Life in English

A coworker looks at you at lunch and says, You look different. What did you change? You know exactly what you want to say. Before, you ate at your desk and checked your phone all day. Now you eat with your team, and you are trying to leave your phone in your bag. What comes out is this: Before, I am eat lunch at desk. Now I am eating with team. I try leave phone.

All the facts are there. What is missing is the frame that holds them. English has a short one for exactly this job: I used to… Now I… I’m trying to… It has three parts and each part has one small rule. Paul and Emily, the hosts of an episode about changing your life one day at a time, give it to you as a tool: “I used to. Now I. And I’m trying to.”

(Quotes in curly marks are from that episode. Sentences in italics are written for this page.)

One change in three parts

Part	Its job	What follows it	Example
I used to	the old habit, now finished	the plain verb	I used to eat lunch alone.
Now I	what you do today	a present verb	Now I eat with my team.
I’m trying to	a change that is not finished	the plain verb	I’m trying to leave my phone in my bag.

You do not need all three every time. Most of the time you need two: the old habit and the new one. The third part is for the days when the new habit is still shaky.

I used to + plain verb: the part that is finished

Used to talks about something you did many times in the past and do not do now. “I used to write fifteen rules.” is Paul’s example, and it works because writing rules was a habit of his, not one single afternoon. Emily’s is “I used to watch videos in bed until one in the morning.” The old habit gets a clear time frame (until one in the morning), and the sentence says nothing about today.

The rule to remember is short. After used to, the verb stays simple: I used to walk. I used to cook. I used to worry. Paul says it plainly in the episode: “I used to play. Not I used to playing. Simple form.” If you catch yourself adding -ing or -ed, take it away.

Two small notes written for this page. First, used to also fits old states, not only habits: I used to live near the river. Second, if you ask or deny, the d goes away: Did you use to eat lunch alone? I didn’t use to like coffee. You will meet these later; the habit sentence above is the one you need for a change story.

Now I + the present: what you do today

The second part says what replaced the old habit. It uses a normal present verb, the same one you use for any routine: Now I eat with my team. Now I have one bowl for my keys. Paul says exactly that: “Now I have one bowl for my keys.” For a negative, use don’t: Now I don’t buy coffee on the way to work.

The important thing is that both parts are about the same topic. If the first part is about lunch, the second part is about lunch. I used to eat lunch alone. Now I eat with my team. is a change. I used to eat lunch alone. Now I like pizza. is two facts.

I’m trying to + plain verb: the part that is not finished

Some changes are not done yet. “We use it for a change that is not finished yet,” says Emily. Her example is “I’m trying to sleep earlier,” and she explains why she picks trying: “Some nights, yes. Some nights, no.”

A simple test helps you choose between Now I and I’m trying to:

• It happens almost every time. Use Now I: Now I turn off the big light at ten thirty.
• It happens some days and not others. Use I’m trying to: Now I’m trying to answer messages after breakfast.

Emily describes her morning with the second sentence: she used to answer her sister’s messages in bed, and now she is “trying to answer them after breakfast.” Some days she still answers in bed, and the sentence is honest about it. You can say it with the end of the frame on the same line: I used to answer every message at once. Now I’m trying to check them every hour.

One thing stays the same: to is followed by the plain verb, never by -ing. I’m trying to sleep, not I’m trying to sleeping.

Say it the way people say it

In the episode, Emily gives a pronunciation hint: in normal speech, “it sounds like one soft word. Yoostuh.” Written down, it is used to with a d. Said fast, it is close to “yoostuh”. Try it with three verbs: I used to walk. I used to cook. I used to worry. Do not push both t sounds. Soft and quick is natural.

Finish with a feeling: It makes me feel…

A change story is better with a result. In the episode, the hosts finish each change with It makes me feel and one word:

• “It makes me feel less alone at work.” (lunch with the team)
• “It makes me feel more rested in the morning.” (phone on the desk, not on the pillow)
• “It makes me feel ready, not nervous.” (ten minutes of Spanish on the bus)

Feel is followed by an adjective: calm, rested, lighter, braver, in control. The full sentence is I used to eat lunch at my desk every day. Now I eat with my team twice a week. It makes me feel less alone at work. That is three short sentences and no difficult grammar.

Twelve changes to borrow

Pick a line, change the words, and say it out loud.

Area	Frame sentence
Sleep	I used to watch videos in bed. Now I turn off the big light at ten thirty.
Coffee	I used to drink coffee at four. Now I drink my last coffee before two.
Phone	I used to check my phone at every red light. Now I keep it in my bag in the car.
Morning	I used to read the news in bed. Now I look out of the window for ten minutes.
Desk	I used to leave papers all over my desk. Now I put them in one box.
Keys	I used to look for my keys every morning. Now I put them in one bowl.
Money	I used to buy coffee on the way to work. Now I make it at home.
Weekend	I used to say yes to every plan. Now I keep Sunday morning free.
Study	I used to study only the night before class. Now I study ten minutes on the bus.
People	I used to talk to my friend twice a year. Now I call her every Thursday.
Food	I used to skip breakfast. Now I eat a banana before work.
English	I used to be afraid to speak English. Now I’m trying to say one sentence every day.

Every line is taken or shortened from the stories in the episode. Notice that the last one uses I’m trying to, because speaking is a habit that grows slowly.

Slips with used to and trying to

1. A verb with -ing after used to. I used to walking. becomes I used to walk.
2. A mixed present. Now I’m sleep earlier. is two forms in one. Choose Now I sleep earlier or Now I’m trying to sleep earlier.
3. A missing I’m. Now I trying to… needs I’m. Say it as one piece: I’m trying to.

Ask and answer: What did you change this year?

The frame also works as a short conversation. In the role-play in the episode, one coworker asks and the other answers with the frame. The three questions are simple:

• What did you change?
• When did you start doing that?
• And how do you feel now?

A full answer, put together from the role-play in the episode: I used to watch videos in bed until very late. Now I turn off the big light at ten thirty. I started about two months ago, and it was hard in the first week. I feel more rested. Notice that when gets a past answer (I started…), while how gets a present answer (I feel…).

Build your own change story: four exercises

1. Which part is it?

Say I used to, Now I or I’m trying to for each situation.

1. Today you eat lunch with your team every week.
2. You wrote fifteen rules on a board, and you do not do that any more.
3. You want to go to bed earlier, but it works only two or three nights a week.
4. You made coffee at home every morning for six months, and it is a normal part of your day now.
5. You are learning to check messages only once an hour, and you often forget.
6. You played football at school, but you do not play now.

Answers

1. Now I eat with my team.
2. I used to write fifteen rules.
3. I’m trying to go to bed earlier.
4. Now I make coffee at home.
5. I’m trying to check messages once an hour.
6. I used to play football.

2. Fix the sentence

1. I used to drinking tea at night.
2. Now I trying to wake up earlier.
3. Now I am have a small lamp.
4. I use to leave my phone on my pillow.
5. I used to check my email every minute. Now I’m check it every hour.
6. I’m trying to sleeping before eleven.

Answers

1. I used to drink tea at night.
2. Now I’m trying to wake up earlier. (I’m is needed)
3. Now I have a small lamp.
4. I used to leave my phone on my pillow.
5. I used to check my email every minute. Now I check it every hour. (or Now I’m trying to check it every hour.)
6. I’m trying to sleep before eleven.

3. Put the notes together

Make one frame sentence from each set of notes, with the feeling at the end.

1. Before: lunch at the desk. Now: lunch with the team twice a week. Feeling: less alone.
2. Before: phone on the pillow. Now: phone on the desk. Feeling: more rested.
3. Before: slow work emails with a dictionary. Not finished: writing the first version fast. Feeling: braver.

Answers

1. I used to eat lunch at my desk every day. Now I eat with my team twice a week. It makes me feel less alone at work.
2. I used to keep my phone on my pillow. Now my phone sleeps on my desk. It makes me feel more rested in the morning.
3. I used to write my work emails very slowly, with a dictionary. Now I’m trying to write the first version fast, and fix it later. It makes me feel braver.

4. Your turn

Answer for your own life. Say it out loud, then say it again. The second time is easier.

• What did you change? (one I used to… and one Now I…)
• When did you start? (I started last month. / I started in the summer.)
• How do you feel now? (I feel calmer. / I feel more in control.)

One change, four pieces: a short reminder

• The old habit: I used to + plain verb. No -ing, no -ed.
• The new habit: Now I + present verb. Same topic as the old habit.
• The change still in progress: I’m trying to + plain verb. Some days yes, some days no.
• The result: It makes me feel + adjective.
• The conversation: What did you change? When did you start? How do you feel now?

Hear it in a real conversation

The frame on this page comes from a long, friendly episode about changing your life for the better, one small day at a time, with a kitchen board of fifteen rules and a blue bowl for keys. If you want to hear the frame in natural conversation, repeat after Paul and Emily and meet the pictures that go with it, read the Show Note and listen to the episode: Change Your Life for the Better in English: One Day at a Time with Used To, Now I and Small Habits.