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Topic: Used to |
25 April 2002 |
Does anyone need a headache? If you do, you're on the right page.
Here, we provide all kind of headache every week. Let's see what we have today.
I suggest you have some aspirin handy.
I used to have a lot of headaches at work. I got stressed out all
the time. But I was never used to exercising to reduce stress or consulting
a doctor. I tried to get used to my everyday life but it's hard to take that kind
of stress regularly. Then I become used to going home late and skipping breakfast.
My health became poor. Then I started to take Yoga classes. They helped reduce stress.
Try it. You might see how it works.
Before I go on about our topic today, I'd like to
say that I wrote up that paragraph to present the expressions and to give examples.
I'm happy with my life and never had to deal with such stress. I love my job because you,
readers, are with me every week. So don't be worried about your Nanny now.
From the previous paragraph describing my past miserable life,
you might have noticed that there are a lot of 'used to'. But if you look closely,
the expressions can be divided into two groups:
Used to is to describe a past event or action, something that
happens often in the past. It is used with an infinitive (to+v) |
For example:
I used to go to school in San Francisco.
John used to like teddy bears when he was young.
The old man used to smoke a lot.
We used to work at a gas station during school breaks.
To be used to means to be familiar with something.
It is used with the present participle form of the verb or v-ing.
You can use verb to get or to become with
used to in this context.
For example:
I am used to having the radio on while I work.
It is hard for some people to become used to living in a big city.
I'm not used to being treated that way.
We try to get used to the neighbor's noise but we can't
Instead of v-ing, we can use a noun to follow to be used to.
Some people will never get used to life in a big city.
We will get used to the noise one day, or we will have to move somewhere else.
I will never become used to it.
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Note :
| Used to +infinitive past |
=to have done something in the past |
To be used to
To get used to + v-ing/n.
To become used to |
=to be familiar with something |
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Exercise: used to/ to be used to |
| Directions : Decide whether the sentences need used to or to be used to and then put the verbs given in the brackets in the right forms. |
 1. He _______ (sleep) on the floor. He doesn't like a soft bed. |
| 2. Life is not as easy as it ________ (be). |
| 3. We _______ (live) in a warm climate. |
| 4. He ________ (spend) a lot of money on drugs when he was addicted. |
| 5. I ________ (like) Ricky Martin before he became very famous. |
| 6. Some girls ________ (wear) high-heels. |
| 7. Before the sky train was finished, I ________ (drive) to work. |
| 8. After I moved to England, I have to _______ the weather. |
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Answers |
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