Grammar (Be + Used to + verb-ing)

Grammar (Be + Used to + verb-ing)

We use 'be used to + verb-ing' to talk about things which feel normal for us or things that we are accustomed to:

• I'm used to getting up early, so I don't mind doing it ( = getting up early is normal for me, it's what I usually do).

• My little daughter is used to eating lunch at noon. So she was grumpy yesterday when we didn't eat until one.

Note that we make the negative or the question with the verb 'be' in the normal way. The 'used to' doesn't change:

• Lucy isn't used to staying up late, so she's very tired today.

• Are your children used to walking a lot?

We can also use 'be used to + noun', which has the same meaning:

• I've lived in the UK almost all my life, so I'm used to rain (= rain is normal for me).

• That football team always lose, so they're used to disappointment!

We can put the verb 'be' into any tense. So we can talk about things in the past or the future as well as the present using this expression:

• It was difficult when I first started university, because I wasn't used to the amount of work we had to do.

• Soon I'll be used to driving in London and I won't be so frightened!