Used to ing

Can we use get used to? What is the meaning of used to something be used to? Do we use the verb be before it?

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. Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

We follow be used to with a noun phrase, a pronoun or the -ing form of a verb: I work in a hospital, so I’m used to long hours.

She lives in a very small village and hates traffic. Peter is used to noisy cities. Tom is used to working hard. The phrase USED TO can work with an infinitive or a gerun but we would get very different meaning!

Look at the following rules and examples. Used to expresses the idea that something was an old habit that stopped in the past.

It indicates that something was often repeated in the past, but it is not usually done now. Examples: Jerry used to study English. I used to drink green tea.

Excellent - used with very minor signs of light usage. Very good – used with normal signs of light use with some minor scratches or marks to paintwork or heads. Good - shows signs of normal use with some scratches or marks to paintwork or heads. Fair - shows noticeable usage marks and scuff that do not effect performance.

In those days, they (to drink) milk. Mrs Wilson (to read) four hours a day when she was young. He is nervous because he (not, to speak) English. One way of using –ing is to show the progressive aspect of something – that means something is going on, has been going on, or will be happening.

For example, “I’m not used to waking up so early. Or, “I’m not accustomed to waking up so early.

If you take a plane trip to a different time zone, then you might need to adjust to waking up earlier. Dancing is a good way to release stress. In all of these examples, dancing is a noun that the verb is referring to. The adjective form of - ing.

When it is used as an adjective, the - ing form describes another noun. That movie had a surprising twist. Do not confuse used to do something with be used to something. Get used to is the process of becoming used to something.

I got used to waking up early in the morning.

When they are used with an infinitive without to, they emphasise the action or event seen as a whole, or as completed. It tells us that there was a repeated action or state in the past which has now changed.

Julie is used to hard work. Julie is used to working hard. I am becoming used to it. A verb ending in - ing is either a present participle or a gerund. These two forms look identical. The difference is in their functions in a sentence. Present participles A present participle is most commonly used as part of the continuous form of a verb, after verbs of perception, after verbs of movement, or as an adjective. I’ve just started my new job and I’ m still getting used to getting up so early.

It might be difficult at first, but you’ ll get used to driving on the left. Since the "-ing" is the noun form of the verb, or the gerun it is logical to use this form. Used" and "accustomed" are past participles followed by a preposition, in this case "to.

Prepositions are followed by a noun, a noun phrase, a pronoun, a noun clause, or a noun form of the verb – that is, the "ing" form. Used To Exercise - a free interactive online exercise.

Go back to the verb patterns exercise page here. I like cats, I like dogs, I like running). Note that habitual used to is pronounced somewhat differently from instrumental used to.