brukar

brukar is a helpful verb for talking about habits and routines. It functions like a modal verb (such as kan or ska), which means it's followed directly by the main verb in its infinitive form, without the infinitive marker att.

Key Points:

• Present Habits: brukar is used for habits in the present tense. For past habits, you use the past tense form, brukade.
  Example: Jag brukade spela fotboll när jag var liten. (I used to play football when I was little.)
• No 'att': The ordinary auxiliary pattern omits att. It's brukar göra, not brukar att göra.
• Negation: To say you don't usually do something, place inte after finite brukar in a basic subject-first main clause.
  Example: Jag brukar inte äta frukost. (I don't usually eat breakfast.)
• Questions: In a yes/no question, brukar comes first. In a question-word question, it follows the question phrase. Compare these patterns with the verb-second rule.
  Example: Brukar du promenera till jobbet? (Do you usually walk to work?)

brukar is a verb, which is different from the adverb vanligtvis (usually). While they can have similar meanings, brukar is integrated into the verb phrase, whereas vanligtvis modifies the whole sentence.
Compare: Han brukar komma sent. = Han kommer vanligtvis sent. (He usually comes late.)

Position And Meaning
Vad brukar du göra? has the question word before brukar; Brukar du läsa? is a verb-first yes/no question. På kvällarna brukar jag inte läsa places the inverted subject before inte, while a subordinate clause normally has eftersom jag inte brukar läsa.

A habit need not be a deliberate action: Det brukar vara kallt här describes a usual condition. Brukade places the pattern in the past; the word alone does not logically prove that it has completely ended. For one intended event tonight, use Jag ska gå på bio ikväll or another suitable future-reference construction, rather than the habitual meaning of brukar.