USED TO, BE USED TO, GET USED TO: When and How to Use Them

Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this video on "used to", "be

used to", and "get used to". Hey, what's this? Oh, it's my book, 300 Practical English Words

and Phrases. "Used to", "be used to", and "get used to" all have individual entries

in this book. So, if you enjoy this material in this video, if you find it useful, and

you want even more examples, more usage explanations, more collocations, you can find all of that

in this book. It has over 2000 examples. It's quite thick, and I hope you enjoy it. So,

you can get the PDF directly from my website, or you can go to an Amazon store, and if Amazon

delivers to your area, you can order it on Amazon as well to own this beautiful purple

book and everything that's inside. So, check it out. I hope you like it. 300 Practical

English Words and Phrases. EnglishAlex.com. Check the link attached to the video.

Now, let's move on to the material. So, I want to separate something here. I want to

separate "used to" and put it on this side, and I want to put "be used to" and "get used

to" on this side, because they are different. The usages are different. "Be used to" and

"get used to" are sister phrases that live on this side, and "used to" lives on this

side in the past. So, "used to" always refers to the past. You can use it to talk about

things that were true in the past, but you want to emphasize that they're not true now.

So, we use it to talk about past habits or behaviors, past states or facts that were

true before in the past, but which aren't true now, and you want to emphasize that they're

not true now. And the structure for "used to" to talk about past states, past facts,

past behaviors is "used to" plus the base verb, or depending on your grammar book, the

bare infinitive. I just prefer base verb. It just works for me. It sounds fine. All

right.

So, let's look at some examples. "We used to live in San Diego." This means we don't

live in San Diego anymore, and we want to emphasize that fact. So, we used to live there.

We don't live there now. You can also say, "I used to take the bus to school." So, maybe

you're talking about, you know, school with your friends when you were kids, and you say,

"How did you get to school?" "Oh, I walked to school." Or, "I used to take the bus to

school." Of course, you're not in school now, so you're not taking the bus to school now

because you're an adult. All right. Adults can go to school, too, and they can take the

bus. I just want to specify that. Next, "Benji used to play the piano." Maybe Benji lost

his passion for the piano, or he lost his interest in the piano. He doesn't play it

now, but yeah, he used to play the piano. I remember in high school, he was always playing

the piano. So, he used to play it, but now he doesn't play it. Next, "He used to be the

CEO of the company." He's not the CEO anymore. Maybe he retired and, you know, he wants to

go on cruises and have vacations, but oh yeah, he used to be the CEO of the company. He's

not the CEO anymore. Next, "I used to believe in ghosts." I don't believe in ghosts now,

but when I was a child or when I watched horror movies or paranormal TV series, I used to

believe in ghosts, but I don't believe in them now. And if you're an adult who believes

in ghosts, also totally fine. It's good. Next, "We used to be friends." I'm going to let

that one sit a little bit because it's very, very sad. Right? So, we used to be friends.

We're not friends now. Maybe we say we grew apart. So, you can grow apart from people.

You have different interests. Maybe when you're kids, it's very simple to become friends.

You become friends because your friend likes Pokemon. You like Pokemon. Hey, you have a

Pokemon shirt. I have a Pokemon shirt. Want to play basketball? Yes, that's how people

become friends when they're kids, right? So, "We used to be friends, but we're not friends

now." Or, "She used to be my best friend in university, but something happened that ended

that friendship." Okay, so this is "used to". It is the easiest of what we are going to

learn today because it has one form. It's always "used to", alright? If you use the

negative, use "I didn't use to", and one thing with the negative, just a reminder, when you

have an auxiliary verb, you always put the next verb in the base form. So, let me actually

write this. If I say... I'll use a question. "Where did you used to", sorry that it's together,

"go to school?" Where did you used to go to school? Oh, I used to go to school at Bernard's

Elementary School. I don't know if that's a real school, but I made it up. So, you can

see here, "Where did you used to", so here we remove the "d" because it is... There's

an auxiliary verb, okay, in the past. The auxiliary verb "did", and you use this with

negatives as well. "I didn't used to think that", "I didn't used to believe that". If

you make sentences like that and you write them, just make sure you remove the "d" basically.

Alright, so that is "used to", always refers to the past, always has the same structure.

Now, let's move on to those sister phrases. On this side, there's another board over there,

I'm going to walk to it. And let's check out "be used to" and "get used to". I'll see you

there.

Okay, so now we are in the "be used to" and "get used to" room. So, like I mentioned,

these are sister phrases. They both refer to being accustomed to something or becoming

accustomed to something. So, let's explore that a little bit. Let's start with "be used

to". So, the structure of "be used to", again, unlike "used to", remember, base verb, very

simple, "I used to live", "we used to play", "he used to have". Here, it's "be used to"

plus the verb, "ing", or a noun, or a pronoun, and it refers to a state. Now, this will become

less complex, I promise. You can use it in the past, in the present, in the future. With

"be used to", it's usually used in the present and the past, however. We'll get to more of

that in the future. And it refers to to be accustomed to something or someone, or to

be familiar with and/or comfortable with something or someone. If you are used to something,

it is not new for you. It is not strange. It is not weird. It is something you are used

to, something you are accustomed to, comfortable with, familiar with. For example, "I'm not

used to waking up this early." And first thing you'll notice, with "be used to", you conjugate

the verb "to be". So, if you're speaking in the past, you would say, "I was used to",

or "He wasn't used to", "We weren't", or "We were used to". In the present, "I am used

to", "You are used to", "He is used to". And this example, "I am not used to waking up

this early." This means waking up this early is really hard for me. Normally, I wake up

later. So, maybe your friend wakes you up, "Hey, we need to leave the house", because

you're going fishing, for example. You have an early morning fishing trip, and you feel

really tired, and you tell your friend, "Sorry, I'm not used to waking up this early." This

is weird for me. It's new for me. I'm not accustomed to it.

Alright, "I live in Canada. I'm used to driving on the right side of the road." So, if I'm

on vacation in a place where people drive on the left side of the road, like London...

London, they do that, right? I might say, "Whoa, this is weird. I'm not used to this."

This is strange for me. I'm in Canada. In Canada, we drive on the right side of the

road. So, "I'm used to that." So, "I'm used to driving." And again, you see, "be used

to", verb-ing, "I'm used to driving on the right side of the road."

Imagine, I went on vacation. I went to Seattle. The weather in Seattle was really rainy. I

wasn't used to it. So, around Montreal, it's not super rainy. I think there's a normal

level of rain. Toronto is similar. But Seattle, apparently, is really rainy. So, I went to

Seattle. I said, "Whoa, I wasn't used to the rain." So, it was weird, it was new, it was

different, it was unexpected for me. I was not comfortable. I was not familiar with that

state, okay? And remember, this refers to a state. I am used to driving. This is my

state on the right side. I'm not used to waking up like this, like this early. This is my

state. And I wasn't used to the weather. Like, I was not comfortable with it. My state was

discomfort or unfamiliarity because I was unfamiliar with it.

Next, we have "get used to". So, like I said, "be used to" refers to the state of being

accustomed, the state of becoming... Not becoming, erase that. Of being comfortable and familiar

with something. "Get used to" refers to the process. So, of learning to become comfortable,

learning to become familiar, learning to become accustomed to a new reality. And it's the

same thing. You can use it in the past, in the present, in the future. I got used to

it. I am getting used to it. Very common to use "get used to" in the present continuous

if you are in the process of becoming familiar. Like, yeah, I'm getting used to waking up

early because this is a new habit for you, a new behavior you are trying to develop.

So, again, refers to the process. To become accustomed to something or someone or to be

familiar with... Or, sorry, to become familiar with or comfortable with someone or something.

Let's look at the examples. "This isn't easy." Like, I know all this grammar. It's a lot

of examples. There are many examples. "I know this isn't easy, but you'll get used to it."

Okay? You'll become accustomed to it. "How long does it take to get used to living in

a new city?" Like, to get used to, to become comfortable, to become accustomed to living

in a new city. So, how was that? Not bad? So, remember, if you're ever wondering, "used

to", "be used to", "get used to", ah, too many "used to's". "Used to" is by itself. Okay?

You leave "used to" on one island in your brain, and then you take "be used to" and

get "used to" and put them on another island, because they are sister phrases. I will use

that term. I like that term. They are sister phrases. One refers to the state of being

familiar. The other refers to the process of becoming familiar or becoming accustomed.

I know it's a lot of information, but you know what would help you to digest this information,

to take it a lot slower? Number one, watch this video again. That's a good thing. Number

two, do the quiz that is attached to this video. Number three, get my book. Yes, I'm

showing you the book again, because all three of these phrases are included in this book.

Let me show you what it looks like inside. So, whether you get the PDF or the physical

book, it's quite nice. The entries are logical, they are practical, there are many, many words

and phrases that we use on a daily basis in English. So, check it out, get the PDF or

get the physical book from Amazon. Both of them, you can check the link attached to this

video on my website, EnglishAlex.com, and that's it.

So, tell me, what is something you are currently getting used to? Leave a comment down below.

Say, "Alex, I am getting used to waking up early. I am getting used to a new exercise

routine. I am getting used to practicing yoga on a daily basis", for example. Okay, that's

it. Thank you very much. Thanks for clicking. Best of luck with all of your studies. Until

next time, take care.