Used to vs Be used to.

Former Habit vs. Accustomed Activity

USE
Used (to) expresses that an activity was a past habit; it was occurring at an earlier stage of life but not now. It focuses on the past habit, not duration or frequency. (used + infinitive) It is a lexical verb limited to past tense.
LECIAL VERBINFINITIVE CLAUSE
We used
to go camping every spring. 
We used
to wake up early to go fishing. 
My parents used
to tell stories before bedtime. 
BE USED TO
Used to expresses something that you are accustomed to; are familiar with and accept as normal.  Also, in Amer. Engl  get used to  (become accustomed gradually). The verbal expression is followed by a gerund.
VERBAL EXPRESSIONGERUND CLAUSE
We are used to
going camping every spring. 
We got used to
waking up early to go fishing. 
We were used to
telling stories before bedtime. 

Error and Solution

ERROR
*We are used to go camping every spring.

*We used to go there for six months.
ERROR
We used to go camping every spring. 
(A past activity occurring at an earlier stage of life.)
We are used to going camping every spring. (It is a family custom.)
We used to go there.  (a past habit that ended)
We went there for six months.
(Use the past tense verb form with a quantity of time.)
 
 

Used to + infinitive


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I decide to search on the internet and I found several pages that help me to reinforce the topic and understand it better. When I was in classes I get confused with these topics, because they are kind of similar, but the charts helped me to see the difference, in the second chart explains that this form uses -ing form, that it's one important difference between both.

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Comentarios

  1. Unknown19 de noviembre de 2017, 19:31

    Hello Karla!!
    I liked your information and how you did you post using those charts talking about: used to and be used to, because that topic could be kind of difficult to understand for many learners, and I am one of those. Well but your post has helped me to understand and notice what is the difference between those expressions use, and now I already know that “used to” is used to talk about activities that were past habits and “be used to” is used to talk about something that you are accustomed to do, and the verb that follow that is in –ing form, and that is one of their differences in structure.
    I just have a question, Is there a problem if I say: “I used to go running “ to talk about past activities?
    Thank you Karly!!

    ResponderEliminar
  2. Unknown20 de noviembre de 2017, 19:06

    Hi Karla!
    I like that you split the topic in the two "subtopics" so it can be more understandable for us. Now I'm more sure about this topic because it's kind of tricky but with your post now I can point out what is the sentence refering to.

    ResponderEliminar
  3. Unknown21 de noviembre de 2017, 7:49

    Hi, Karla!
    I Really liked your information, it was a nice feedback and helpful too, i could reinforce my knowledge, i found your explanation very easy to understand.
    No further questions.

    ResponderEliminar
  4. Unknown21 de noviembre de 2017, 7:50

    Hello Karly !

    I like your post, It's really interesting to know, It will help me to improve my knowledge about when to use each in context. Also It will allow me to be totally sure about the context where I will use "used to" or " be used to" .
    I just have a little doubt, After "be+ used to" do we have to use an -ING verb, right?

    ResponderEliminar
  5. Stella Baker10 de marzo de 2021, 1:00

    Good internet search done. Keep up the work. Here is the topic on English Grammar. Happy learning.

    ResponderEliminar

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