USED TO WOULD Used to infintive and beget

USED TO & WOULD

Used to + infintive and be/get used to… People often get confused about the use of used to + infinitive and be/get used to + ‘ing’ form because they look similar. They are, however, completely different.

Used to + infinitive We use ‘used to’ to talk about things that happened in the past – actions or states – that no longer happen now. n She used to be a long distance runner when she was younger. n I used to eat meat but I became a vegetarian 5 years ago.

The negative is “didn’t use to” and questions are formed with “Did you use to …? ” There is no present tense equivalent of “used to”. To talk about present habits we use the present simple and an adverb of frequency (usually, always, often, never, etc. ) n e. g. I often eat at the Japanese restaurant in the city centre.

Both “be used to” and “get used to”are followed by a noun (or pronoun) or the gerund – the “ing” form of a verb. n I can’t get used to getting up so early. I’m tired all the time. “Be/get used to” can be used with past, present and future tenses. n You might find it strange at first but you’ll soon get used to it.

Be/get used to can be used with past, present and future tenses. n You might find it strange at first but you’ll soon get used to it. n He wasn’t used to the heat and he caught sunstroke.

Be/get used to If you are used to something, you are accustomed to it – you don’t find it unusual. If you get used to something or you are getting used to something you are becoming accustomed to it – it was strange, now it’s not so strange. n I found Slovak food very strange at first but I’m used to it now. n I’m getting used to driving on the right.

“Used to” shows that: A particular thing always happened or was true in the past. But it no longer happens or is no longer true now: Examples: n David used to live in Madrid n She used to exercise every morning, but since she had that terrible.

Forms of used to Here are the interrogative, affirmative and negative forms of used to: n Did you use to exercise regularly? n Yes, I used to go jogging nearly everyday. n No, I didn't use to exercise on a regular basis.

Be used to/get used to Be used to is used to say that something is normal, not unusual: Example: Don’t worry, John is used to driving for long hours. He has worked as a professional driver for 20 years. Get used shows that something is in the process of becoming normal. Example: n He doesn’t like that small town, but he'll get used to it

The difference between USED TO and WOULD Used to and would are both use to describe something that happened regularly in the past but doesn't happen any longer, as shown in the following two sentences about quitting smoking: n I used to smoke, but I quit last year. However, there are two important differences between used to and would. The first difference is that would should not be used unless it has already been established that the time frame is in the past, while used to does not require this. This example, with used to at the beginning, sounds natural: n I used to watch cartoons every Saturday morning when I was very little. Now I rarely watch TV.

The second difference between used to and would is that would is not used with stative verbs such as love, be, understand, and feel. Compare these two sentences with the stative verb love: n n When I was a student, I used tolove sleeping late on the weekends. (natural and grammatical) When I was a student, I wouldlove sleeping late on weekends. (awkward and ungrammatical) To summarize, the use of would is more restricted than that of used to. Therefore, if you aren't sure which one to use, it's best to choose used to.

However, when used to is replaced with would, the same example becomes awkward and ungrammatical: n I would watch cartoons every Saturday morning when I was very little. Now I rarely watch TV. But if the past time frame is established before would appears, would sounds fine. n When I was little, I would get up and watch cartoons every Saturday morning. Now I rarely watch TV.