Used to

Used to

by Andreea Mesescu

​Used to + infinitive

​We use used to to talk about a past situation which is no longer true. It tells us that there was a repeated action or state which now has changed.

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​e.g.: Did you use to come here as a child?

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be used to means be familiar with or be accustomed to.

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​e.g.: I am a teacher so I am used to talk in front of the kids.

​Watch out!!!

With the negative and interrogative it is use and not used.

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​e.g.: Did he use to be a teacher?

​She did not use to like chocolate, but she does now.

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​Note! With this 'used to' there is no verb 'be'. We CAN'T say 'I am used to have long hair'.

​Be used to

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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).

​Would + infinitive

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We can also use 'would + infinitive' to talk about a habit or repeated action in the past. We usually use 'would + infinitive' in this way when we're telling a story about the past. So, we can say:

• When I was a student, we would often eat after class on a Friday.

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​We use get used to talk about the process of becoming familiar with something.

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​e.g.: I am getting used to the noise now. I found it really stressful when I first moved in.

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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.