There's a big difference between used to live - to talk about past habits or states and is used to doing - to talk about something that you are now familiar with.
For example, a common mistake is "I am used to study."
Do you mean that you used to study, but you don't study any more, or do you mean that you know about studying?
Avoid making mistakes by remembering the verb pattern.
Used to + verb describes a past habit or state.
For example:
He used to smoke, but he doesn't now."
To be used to + verb with ing describes something that you are now familiar with.
For example, "Five years ago, I didn't know about the internet. Now I am used to working with it."
11 comments on “How to use "used to" in English”
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hi, my question is that we use ((used to ))for past habite ,can we use ((use to ))for now???
thanks
No, you can't use "use to" for present habit. For present habit, use the simple present tense.
can i say
iam using to working
can i say "I used to study Japanese for three years" ?
You don't need to write "for three years". If you want to say how long you did something for, then just say "I studied Japanese for three years".
i m confusing with these usage before, thank u very much :)
n mani
Aug 8, 2007
# very clear example and explanations! thanks.
what about "get used to"? could you please give an example how to use it.
Thanx
"Get used to" means "become accustomed to".
For example, if you move to England you will need to get used to driving on the left.
After "get used to" you need either a noun or a gerund (ing) form.
When I moved to Italy, I got used to eating pasta.
When I moved to Italy, I got used to pasta.
could i say
when i was young,I used to playing with the toys.
No. It's accurate to say "When I was young, I used to play with toys."
please I want to know the difference between "I'm used to doing" & "I get used to doing"
If you are used to doing something, you are already familiar with it. But if you get used to doing something, you are not yet familiar with it, and you are in the process of becoming familiar with it.