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.
Good day!
I would appreciate if you helped me with understanding the following situation:
- How are you finding life in Bangkok? – It’s great, thanks, but it’s very different to what I’m used to/ was used to/ got used to.
Which alternative is it logically and grammatically correct to use in the following conversation? Can you explain why? and is it possible somehow to use the other variants in the same context?
one more question related to the structures: I'm used to and I got used to, can they be interchangable in meaning?
Thank you in advance :)
Hello TanyaSha,
I would respond with 'I'm used to'. Since the question is posed in the present tense, in most situations the obvious tense for the response is also the present tense.
This is not to say that a reference to the past is impossible, but it would be unusual. For example, if you are from the Bahamas and had just been talking about the six months you just spent in Vladivostok, then perhaps 'was used to' could make sense, but it's hard to say for sure without knowing the precise context.
'be used to' refers to a state and 'get used to' refers to a process. Although it's true that 'got used to' can refer to a past state in a way (in other words, to a state that was the result of a process), I'd still say the first refers to a state and the second to a process.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Thank you, Kirk, for such a clear explanation. It helped indeed, as always :)
What is the reason of using ‘ing’ after ‘get used to ‘
Hello bnnbn,
In 'get used to' the 'to' is a preposition and needs to be followed by an object. This could be a noun or an -ing form:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Good afternoon
Can you please analyze I’m getting used to living in US.
Analysis of pronunciation
EMERGENCE
THANK YOU
Hello soso55553,
This is a site for language learners, not trainee teachers and this is clearly a question for someone on a training course. It's also a question set for homework or for a test and it's not our role to do people's homework for them.
StackExchange is a site you might find useful if you are looking for comments on something like this. For example:
https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/1331/comparing-got-used-to-have-gotten-used-to-get-used-to-will-get-used-to
You can join that site and ask your question there. The community is quite helpful.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
What is the difference between using a verb and the -ing form after "get used to"? How I should know what to use?
Ex.: 1 We didn't use to getting much positive feedback about our old product, but the new formula is really successful. (Why is -ing form used here?)
2 You've stopped hiking? But why? You used to go all the time. (Why is verb used here?)
Hi vikkais,
Actually, sentence 1 is not grammatically correct. It should be: We didn't use to get ... . After "use to" meaning a regular past action, only the verb in the infinitive form should be used.
The -ing form is used after "be/get used to", meaning an action which you are familiar with or accustomed to.
I hope that helps to clarify it.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hello,
I just read in a book that you do not use used to talk about past situations when the time of the past situation is given.
The example they give is:
2. My father worked for the ABC Company from 1998 to 2007.
I can't find othere sources saying the same.
Is that true?