Used to...

The phrase 'used to' often creates confusion for advanced/upper intermediate students. Specifically, it can mean at least two completely different things and the grammar really matters to the meaning.

So let’s look at it step by step.

Firstly, when something was happening regularly in the past, or for a period of time in the past, but it is not happening now - you would say:

• When Jim was younger, he used to play football.

      Meaning: Jim regularly played football when he was younger.

• I used to live in Italy.

      Meaning: I lived in Italy for a period of time, but I don’t live there now.

The form (structure) of this type of sentence is therefore as follows:

Subject + used to + bare infinitive verb (i.e. the verb without ‘to’)

However, when you are accustomed to something (i.e. it is normal or a habit for you), you would say:

• I am used to going to work early.

      Meaning: It is normal for me to go to work early.

• I’m used to eating sandwiches for lunch rather than a hot meal.

      Meaning: It’s a habit for me to eat sandwiches at lunchtime.

The form (structure) of this type of sentence is therefore as follows:

Subject + conjugated verb to be + used to + verb+ing

Sometimes, you don’t need a second verb in the sentence to talk about being accustomed to something, for example:

• I’m used to my dad’s jokes.

      Meaning: I am accustomed to my dad’s jokes.

      English speakers often say, “Oh, I’m used to it”, when they mean that a situation is normal for them.

      E.g. if you ask someone in Scotland how they cope with the cold weather, they might say, “Oh, I’m used to it”.

The form here is:

Subject + verb to be + used to +  a thing/person (the object of the sentence).

To avoid confusion, I would suggest first practising sentences about the past (...used to + verb), and then when that feels really familiar, practice sentences about normal habits (...to be used to + verb+ing). After that, you can compare more easily the two different meanings, such as:

I used to eat a lot of sweets, but now I’m used to eating less.

Meaning: In the past, I ate a lot of sweets, but now it is normal for me to eat less of them.

She used to cycle to work every day but now she’s used to going by car.

Meaning: In the past she cycled to work, but now she is in the habit of going to work by car.

They used to live in a big city, but now they’re used to living in a small village.

Meaning: In the past, they lived in a big city, but now they are accustomed to living in a small village.

I hope this helps. I’d be interested to know what the equivalents are in your own language - feel free to post in the comments section below!