Look at these examples to see how used to, get used to and be used to are used.
I used to want to be a lawyer but then I realised how hard they work!
How's Boston? Are you used to the cold weather yet?
No matter how many times I fly, I'll never get used to take-off and landing!
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
Used to + infinitive and be/get used to + -ing look similar but they have very different uses.
used to
We use used to + infinitive to talk about a past situation that is no longer true. It tells us that there was a repeated action or state in the past which has now changed.
She used to be a long-distance runner when she was younger.
I didn't use to sleep very well, but then I started doing yoga and it really helps.
Did you use to come here as a child?
be used to and get used to
Be used to means 'be familiar with' or 'be accustomed to'.
She's used to the city now and doesn't get lost any more.
He wasn't used to walking so much and his legs hurt after the hike.
I'm a teacher so I'm used to speaking in public.
We use get used to to talk about the process of becoming familiar with something.
I'm finding this new job hard but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon.
It took my mother years to get used to living in London after moving from Pakistan.
I'm getting used to the noise now. I found it really stressful when I first moved in.
Be used to and get used to are followed by a noun, pronoun or the -ing form of a verb, and can be used about the past, present or future.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
Hello arik,
1. Yes, that's correct: used to not having means that for you it is normal to not have...
2. Yes, again that's correct: not used to having means that for you it is not normal to have...
In your context I don't think there is any difference, so both forms work equally well. You can say you are used to an absence of people (used to not having) or that you are not used to a presence (not used to having); it's really two ways of saying the same thing.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sara hesham,
We say get used to something when there is a change over time from something being new or strange to it becoming familiar. Your first sentence is like this: at first sleeping with the lights on was strange but it then became normal.
We say be used to something when something is normal for us. It does not tell us anything about change: it could be something that was never strange for us, or it could be something that became normal over time. This is the meaning of your second sentence.
We use used to do something when we did something regularly or normally in the past but do not do it anymore. This is the meaning of your third sentence.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Viktoria,
There is no time I can think of when an infinitive is used after 'get used to'. The 'to' in 'get used to' is not part of a verb -- it is a preposition. After a preposition, we can put a noun (e.g. 'get used to the weather') or a verb in the '-ing' form (e.g. 'get used to speaking French'). We use this form to speak about how we feel about something.
Note that this is different from 'used to' + infinitive, which is used to speak about past habitual actions that are no longer true.
Does that make sense?
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Westnur,
Welcome! We hope you enjoy your English practice here :)
If you mean a habitual action in the past (i.e. you don't do it any more), it should be I used to play football in the morning. But if you still play football, you can't use used to. It should be I play football in the morning (present simple). You can add an adverb like usually or regularly to emphasise the habitual meaning.
Does that make sense?
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team