Sadlier Vocabulary Workshop Level A Unit 5 Answers

"Used to," "Be Used To," and "Get Used To": What's the Difference?

Introduction

Ever found yourself mixing up “used to”, “be used to”, and “get used to”? You’re not alone. These similar phrases can be tricky, even for advanced learners, but understanding their differences is key to expressing habits, familiarity, and change in English. By learning when and how to use these phrases, you can speak and write with far more precision and without being tense.

Whether you’re an ESL student working on improving your fluency or an experienced teacher looking for clear ways to explain these concepts to your students, this lesson will break down the distinctions and make them easy to grasp. Let’s talk about how these expressions work and give you the tools to use them confidently in your conversations and writing! Just follow up with the following explanations!

Used to

We use used to when we refer to things in the past which are no longer true. It can refer to repeated actions or to a state or situation:

Example sentences:

• I used to play tennis when I was a child. (Meaning: Playing tennis was a habit.)
• She used to play basketball for the local team, but she’s too old now.
• That blue house over there used to belong to my family.
• He used to ride his bicycle with strange people.
• He used to live in Thailand.
• I used to climb trees.
• I used to talk about my unusual future plans.
• I used to learn about the different forms of the verb 'use' in my grammar lessons. 

Structure: Subject + used to + infinitive verb

Negative: didn’t use to 

• It didn’t use to be so crowded in the shops as it is nowadays.
• I didn’t use to like broccoli when I was younger, but I love it now.

Questions: auxiliary did + use to

• I think we met once, a couple of years ago. Did you use to work with Kevin Harris?

Be used to

Be used to means ‘be accustomed to’ or ‘be familiar with’. It can refer to the past, present, or future. We follow be used to with a noun phrase, a pronoun, or the -ing form of a verb.

Example sentences:

• She is used to living in a big city.
• He is used to the city now and doesn't get lost anymore.
• She wasn't used to walking so much and her legs hurt after the hike.
• I'm an orator, so I am used to speaking in public and giving talks regularly.
• I'm a cook, so I am used to teaching others how to make spicy pizzas. 

Structure: Subject + be + used to + noun/gerund

Get used to 

Get used to refers to the process of becoming accustomed or familiar with something.

Examples:

• He is getting used to his new school.
  
• I am finding this new job hard, but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon.
  
• It took my father years to get used to living in Egypt after moving from London.
  
• I'm getting used to the noise now. I found it really difficult when I first moved in.

Structure: Subject + be + getting used to + noun/gerund

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You can avoid confusing these commonly misused phrases by comprehending the rules and usage of each phrase. You can also improve your grammar by visiting our website as a daily habit.

Try using "Used to," "Be Used To," and "Get Used To" in three sentences of your own to improve your English grammar.

FAQs

What is the proper way to say "used to"?

The proper expression is "used to" with a "d" at the end. This form is used to describe actions or states that were regular in the past but no longer occur. For example, "The doctor used to ask repeated questions about what happened earlier in the last weekend."

How do you use "used to" in a sentence?

"Used to" is placed before the base form of a verb to indicate a habitual action or state from the past that has since changed. For example, saying "I used to swim every morning" is an accurate sentence.

Which is correct: "use" or "used" in the context of expressing a past habit?

In English grammar, "used" is the accurate verb form to talk about past states. It signifies that the action or state was consistent in the past but is no longer true. For example, saying "I used to exercise a lot" is a proper sentence.

Used to or would?

We can use used to or would to talk about people’s habits in the past. When we use them both together, used to most commonly comes first, as it sets the scene for the actions being reported:

Used to, but not would, can describe a state or situation which is no longer true:

Examples:

• When we were kids, we used to invent amazing games. We would imagine we were the government and we would make crazy laws that everyone had to obey.
• We used to live in Manchester.

Not: We would live in Manchester.

‘The Townhouse’ used to be a Greek restaurant. It’s Italian now.

Not: ‘The Townhouse’ would be a Greek restaurant …