-ar edi
Used to: -ar Edi
-ar edi means used to: Har yozda qishloqqa borardim (I used to go to the village every summer).
How It Works
Form.
- After a consonant: bor- + -ar + edim → borar edim, or borardim (I used to go)
- After a vowel: oʻqi- + -r + edi → oʻqir edi, or oʻqirdi (he or she used to read); ishla- + -r + edik → ishlar edik (we used to work)
- Negative: bor- + -mas + edim → bormas edim, or bormasdim (I did not use to go)
The person endings on edi are the same as in -gan edi: -m, -ng, -k, -ngiz, -lar.
One word or two? Both are correct. When edi keeps its e, write two words: borar edim. When the e drops, as it usually does in speech, write one word: borardim. The official spelling rules join a helper verb to the main verb in exactly this situation, when a sound changes where they meet.
Past habits. Use it for things that happened again and again, often with har kuni (every day), har yozda (every summer), ilgari (in the past) or bolaligimda (when I was a child). It is close to -(a)digan edi: yugurar edim and yuguradigan edim both mean I used to run. The bare -(a)r form without edi is a separate tense; see -(a)r and -mas.
Would, if. The same form also means would after an if-clause: Vaqtim boʻlsa, borardim (If I had time, I would go). That use is taught in unreal conditions.
Examples (5)
- Bolaligimda har yozda qishloqqa borardim.
As a child, I used to go to the village every summer.
Word by Word: My-childhood-in every summer-in village-to I-used-to-go.
borar edim written as one word.
- Bobom har kuni ertalab gazeta oʻqir edi.
My grandfather used to read the newspaper every morning.
Word by Word: My-grandfather every day morning newspaper read was.
oʻqi- ends in a vowel, so it takes only -r.
- Ilgari biz shu mahallada yashar edik.
We used to live in this neighborhood.
Word by Word: Before we this neighborhood-in live we-were.
-k on edi says we.
- U ilgari goʻsht yemas edi.
He didn't use to eat meat.
Word by Word: He before meat not-eat was.
The negative uses -mas instead of -ar.
- Talabalik paytimda koʻp kitob oʻqirdim.
When I was a student, I used to read a lot of books.
Word by Word: Student-hood my-time-in many book I-used-to-read.
oʻqir edim written as one word.
Common Mistakes
Putting the person ending on the -ar verb.
Bolaligimda har yozda qishloqqa borarman edi.Bolaligimda har yozda qishloqqa borar edim.Only edi takes the person ending: borar edim, or borardim.
Adding -ar to a stem that ends in a vowel.
Bobom har kuni gazeta oʻqiar edi.Bobom har kuni gazeta oʻqir edi.After a vowel the ending is only -r: oʻqi- → oʻqir, ishla- → ishlar.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Builds on Was and Were: edi and Going To and Usually With -(a)digan.
Related Patterns
- -(a)r / -masProbable Future -(a)r and -mas
The bare -(a)r form is a tense of its own for probable futures; edi turns it into past habit.
Level 3 - -gan ediHad Done: -gan Edi
-gan edi says something had happened once; -ar edi says it used to happen again and again.
Level 3 - -sa ... -ar ediUnreal Conditions
The same -ar edi form gives the would part of an unreal condition.
Level 4 - -(a)yotgan ediWas Doing: -(a)yotgan Edi
-(a)yotgan edi describes one action in progress; -ar edi describes a repeated habit.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice -ar edi in Bubblegum
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