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.