Get Used To vs Used To
Level B1 · Verb Patterns
get used to / be used to and used to look similar but mean completely different things. used to + base verb describes a past habit that's no longer true (I used to smoke = I smoked regularly in the past, but not now). be/get used to + noun/-ing describes being or becoming familiar/comfortable with something, in any time — past, present, or future (I'm used to the noise = the noise doesn't bother me anymore, because I've experienced it enough to be comfortable with it).
How to tell these apart:
- used to + base verb (no -ing) = a past habit, now finished: She used to live in Paris (she doesn't live there now); We used to go there every summer (we don't anymore).
- be used to + noun/-ing = accustomed to something, comfortable with it (a state, not an action): I'm used to hot weather (hot weather doesn't bother me); She's used to working long hours (long hours feel normal to her).
- get used to + noun/-ing = becoming accustomed to something, the process of adapting: It took me a while to get used to the new schedule (the process of adjusting); You'll get used to it (you'll adapt eventually).
- be/get used to can exist in any tense (was used to, will be used to, has got used to), while used to (the habit form) only ever refers to the past and has no other tense forms: I was used to the heat by the time summer ended (past state) vs I used to live there (past habit) — both about the past, but with different meanings and forms.
The most common mistake is following be/get used to with a base verb instead of -ing or a noun — I'm used to wake up early is wrong; used to here needs -ing or a noun: I'm used to waking up early. A second mistake is confusing the habit used to (which never takes am/is/are, was/were as its own form — it simply is a fixed past form) with be/get used to (which does conjugate with be/get in any tense) — I am used to smoke is wrong for the habit meaning; either say I used to smoke (past habit) or I am used to smoking (accustomed to the activity).
Check what follows: a bare base verb after used to (with no am/is/are/get before it) signals the past-habit meaning. A noun or -ing form after be/get used to (is used to, was used to, get used to, got used to) signals the accustomed/adapting meaning, which can appear in any tense. If the sentence is about something that stopped happening, it's the habit used to; if it's about comfort or familiarity with something, it's be/get used to.