Used to do & Be used to

When we talk about the past we can use the words used to do. Even though, this phrase is not a verb tense, it behaves as one. It is a specific way of expressing the past, and only the past. Used to do is used only to express the past. The expression be used to easily be confused with used to do. However, they have different meanings, so make sure to use the correct one.

	subject	auxiliary did	not	main verb use	infinitive
+	I			used	to do.
–	I	did	not	use	to do.
?	Did(auxiliary)	you(subject)		use	to do?

Used or use?

• We say use to (notice there is no d) when the sentence includes did.
• We say used to (with d) when there is no did in the sentence.

Use of Used to do

Whenever we are talking about:

• A habit or something we did often in the past or
• circumstances or situations that were true in the past.

We use the expression used to as illustrated below.

She used to play soccer. past present future

There are more examples below:

the past	the present
She used to play in a band.	Now she stays at home with the baby.
We used to eat a lot of bread.	Now we don’t eat any bread.
They used to be in the same class.	Now they are in different classes.
We used to visit a restaurant here.	Now there is a bookstore here.
I didn’t use to go hiking.	Now I go hiking often.
Did she use to play the drums?

• Be used to a thing.
• Be used to an activity.

Be used to is not a verb tense, but rather a phrase. If you say “I am used to the weather”, it is like saying “I am accustomed to these temperatures.”

The expression be used to can easily be confused with used to do. However, they have different meanings, so make sure to use the correct one.

The structure is:

subject + be + used to + object

	subject	main verb be	not	used to	object
+	I	am		used to	noise.
–	She	is	not	used to	dogs.
	They	aren’t		used to	heat.
?	Are	you		used to	smell?

We use the –ing form whenever the object involves a verb:

We	are	not	used to	being tired.
She	is		used to	eating at 6:00 p.m.
He	isn’t		used to	making decisions.
Are	they		used to	eating out?

Remember, we always use – ing when we have a verb after a preposition. This is why we use –ing if there is a verb in the object after be used to.

Use of Be used to

When we talk about something that is easy or common for us we use the phrase be used to. For example:

• She is used to his snoring.

It means that hearing him snore is not hard for her. Someone may say they have a hard time sleeping when he snores, but for this person it is usual and customary to hear him snore and it does not bother her.
Look at these examples.

• He is used to loud noises.
• I am used to hearing loud noises.
• She is not used to Chinese food.
• She isn’t used to eating Chinese food.
• Are you used to long commutes?
• Are you used to living far?

Tenses

The phrase be used to can be used in any tense by conjugating the verb be appropriately. For example:

• When they moved to Florida, they were overwhelmed by the heat.
• They have been used to the warm weather for a long time.
• She will soon be used to walking to work.