On Target One- Secondary II ESL

Unit 11- “From Rags to Riches”

Teacher: R. Khan

“Used to”, “Be Used to”, “Get Used to”…

1. We use Used to show that actions always happened or were true in the past, but it shows that
the routine, habit or situation has changed or no longer exists.

Form
Used to + Base Form of the Verb
I used to play the piano when I was a child.

*N.B. “Used to” has no present/progressive/perfect tense and no infinitive or –ing form.

Here are the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms of used to:

Affirmative: Yes, I used to go jogging nearly every day.

Negative: No, I didn't use to exercise on a regular basis
Interrogative: Did you use to exercise regularly?

2. We use be used to indicate that you have experienced something long enough so that you are
accustomed to it. You are now comfortable with the new situation.

Here are the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms of be used to:

Affirmative: I've lived here for ten years now so I'm used to driving in the city.
Negative: He's not used to working at night so he sometimes falls asleep.
Interrogative: Are you used to the climate?

3. We use get used to refer to the process of adjusting to changes. The new situation has not yet
become ‘normal’.

Here are the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms of get used to:

Affirmative: It took them a long time to get used to their new boss.
Negative: They didn’t get used to their new boss.
Interrogative: Did they get used to their new boss?

Form
Get used to and be used to are followed by either a noun/noun phrase or a gerund.

Roseline Khan ©2015 Page 1

 Get used to + noun Get used to + gerund (verb+ing)
I got used to the noise. I got used to waking up early.
I'm used to the cold weather. I'm used to working late at night.

*N.B. Both be used to and get used to can be used with be and get in all tenses: The Present, Past,
Future and Conditional depending on the context of the situation.
Present: Now that I live in France, I am used to driving on the right.
Past: Since I moved to the city, I have gotten used to noise.
Future: I moved to Canada this year. I will get used to the snow.

Roseline Khan ©2015 Page 2