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  3. Different uses of 'used to'

Different uses of 'used to'

Different uses of 'used to'

Do you know the difference between I used to drive on the left and I'm used to driving on the left? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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.

Grammar test 1

'used to' + infinitive and 'be' or 'get used to' + '-ing': Grammar test 1

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.

Grammar test 2

'used to' + infinitive and 'be' or 'get used to' + '-ing': Grammar test 2

Try another grammar lesson

Language level

B2 Upper intermediate
Average: 4.1 (181 votes)

Submitted by GiulianaAndy on Sun, 18/07/2021 - 19:57

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Hello, great lesson. However, I have a question, it's about filling the gaps with the word in parentheses: (Options: be getting used to/ get used to/ be used to/ used to- You can also use the negative form): 1) I'm English student, so I (speak) English during our video calls on Zoom 2) I have just gotten married, so I (share) my space with another person. It's not easy at all 3) I have had this phone for 10 years, so I (use) it. I know it like the back of my hand

Hello GiulianaAndy,

I'm afraid we don't help with answers to questions from other sites or sources. If we did, we'd soon end up doing users' homework for them! You'll need to ask the author of the questions, or check in a key if there is one.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I used to. I'm getting used to. I'm used to. The meaning of the sentences has too much to do with the correct answers

Submitted by Aziz-12345 on Thu, 18/03/2021 - 04:52

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Plz, can you fill in the blank? He used to see me ......... these clothes (dress-dressed-dressing)

Hello Aziz-12345,

The verb 'dress' doesn't seem right to me here; I'd recommend 'wear' instead. After the verb 'see', we use a bare infinitive form ('wear') to speak about seeing an action in general or an -ing form ('wearing') to speak about seeing an action in process. In this case, I'd suggest and -ing form, I think. It depends a little on what exactly the sentence means.

Hope this helps.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Maahir on Mon, 15/03/2021 - 13:03

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Hi, I am Maahir. please let me know which sentence is grammatically correct. My friend used to be alone, but know he got married and he has a child too. My friend used to be alone, but now he has a wife and a child too. Thanks in advance.
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Submitted by Peter M. on Fri, 19/03/2021 - 07:15

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Hi Maahir,

The correct spelling here is 'now', so the second sentecne is correct.

 

Generally, we don't provide answers to questions like this one. We try to offer explanations of how language works rather than just right or wrong answers as otherwise we would end up doing our users' homework for them!

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Nayoung on Thu, 11/03/2021 - 14:17

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Hi, I've got a question. In my book there is an example that I can't change to "used to infinitive form". My father has worked in several different countries so I've been to lots of different schools. But I think that present perfect tense(has worked) indicates that it happened at times in the past so that it can be changed to 'used to work in several different countries,'

Hello Nayoung,

The sentence about your father uses the present perfect, which implies that your father is still moving from country from time to time. 'be used to' can only be used to talk about past actions that we no longer do, so your book is right -- it's not correct to use it here.

If your father were retired now and the original sentence had the past simple ('worked in several countries'), then it would be possible to use 'used to' there. But 'I've been to' would not be correct. This is a statement about your life experience and so it wouldn't be correct to use 'used to' as long as you are alive.

Best wishes,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team