Used to be a teacher and was a teacher

[mrmvp]

Hello.
What is he difference between these two sentences?

1- I used to be a teacher in a high school in the UAE.
2- I was a teacher in a high school in the UAE.

 

[SoothingDave]

No difference in meaning.

 

[5jj]

The first places more emphasis on the fact that this is no longer the situation.

 

[mrmvp]

The first places more emphasis on the fact that this is no longer the situation.

Ok. So if someone says my wife was kind. It can also means that she is still kind, but if someone says my wife used to be kind. This mean she is no longer kind. Am I right?

 

[emsr2d2]

OK.

At the start of a sentence, you can write "OK" or "Okay". Elsewhere in a sentence, you can write "OK" or "okay". However, "Ok" is always wrong.

So if someone says my wife was kind, it can also means that she is still kind, but if someone says my wife used to be kind, this mean she is no longer kind. Am I right?

How likely is it that someone will simply say to you "Your wife was kind"?

 

[mrmvp]

At the start of a sentence, you can write "OK" or "Okay". Elsewhere in a sentence, you can write "OK" or "okay". However, "Ok" is always wrong.

How likely is it that someone will simply say to you "Your wife was kind"?

Zero percent with zero tolerance unless he or she is related. It is just an example sentence. I will change the example sentence

Jon was a teacher. Jon used to be a teacher.
Does the former mean he is no longer a teacher, or is he still a teacher?"

 

[probus]

In 1 you are certainly no longer. In 2 you may still be.

 

[Annabel Lee]

What is he difference between these two sentences?

1- I used to be a teacher in a high school in the UAE.
2- I was a teacher in a high school in the UAE.

Only sentence 1 ("used to be") would work without any context. It could even be used as the first sentence of a story.

Sentence 2 needs a past-time adverbial. It could be implied/understood in the context:

A: What did you do for a living in 2015?
B: I was a teacher at a high school in the UAE.

If the adverbial is explicit, it could refer to a definite time or to an indefinite time:

I was a teacher at a high school in the UAE in 2015.
I was once a teacher at a high school in the UAE.
A long time ago, I was a teacher at a high school in the UAE.