Few corners of English grammar trip students up quite like the family of structures built around the words used to. There are three of them, they look almost identical on the page, and they mean completely different things. If you have ever stared at a sentence wondering whether it should be used to live or used to living, you are in very good company – this is one of the most common questions our teachers in Malta hear in class.
The good news is that once you see the three structures side by side, the fog lifts quickly. In this lesson we will work through used to for past habits, be used to for things that feel normal, and get used to for the process of adapting. Then you can test yourself with a ten-question quiz at the end.
1. Used to + infinitive: past habits and old states
We use used to + infinitive to talk about something that was true or that happened regularly in the past, but is not true or does not happen any more. It is one of the clearest ways in English to mark a contrast between then and now.
- I used to live in Sicily before I moved to Malta. (I do not live there now.)
- She used to smoke, but she gave up last year.
- We used to spend every summer at my grandmother’s house.
Notice that the verb after used to is always in the bare infinitive: live, smoke, spend – never living or spending.
For the negative and question forms, we drop the ‘d’ because we use the auxiliary did:
- Negative: I didn’t use to like coffee.
- Question: Did you use to play football at school?
Both didn’t use to and did you use to are accepted in modern British English, although in formal writing many people prefer never used to or simply the past simple: I never used to like coffee / I didn’t like coffee.
2. Be used to + gerund: this feels normal now
Here is where things start to shift. Be used to + -ing (or a noun) means ‘accustomed to’. It describes a situation that may have been strange or difficult at first, but which now feels completely normal.
- I am used to driving on the left. (It feels normal to me now.)
- She is used to the heat in Malta. (She lives here, it is no longer a shock.)
- They are used to working long hours.
The key word here is be. It changes form to match the subject and the tense: I am used to, she was used to, we will be used to. And the word that follows is always either a gerund (driving, working) or a noun (the heat, the noise) – never a bare infinitive.
So if a friend asks how you cope with Malta’s summer temperatures and you have lived here for ten years, the natural answer is: I’m used to it.
3. Get used to + gerund: the process of adapting
Get used to + -ing describes the process of becoming accustomed. It is dynamic rather than static – something is changing.
- I’m slowly getting used to waking up early. (I am in the middle of adapting.)
- You’ll get used to the food after a few weeks. (Future adaptation.)
- It took me a month to get used to living alone. (Past adaptation, now complete.)
Think of it as a journey. Get used to is the road, be used to is the destination. When students arrive in Malta on Monday, they often find the slower pace of island life unfamiliar; by Friday they are getting used to it; by the end of a four-week course, they are used to it.
4. The three structures side by side
Let’s put them next to each other so the differences are obvious.
- I used to live in Spain. → A past habit. I do not live there now.
- I am used to living in Malta. → A present state. Living here feels normal.
- I’m getting used to living in a smaller flat. → A process. I am adapting right now.
And one more set, with the same verb (drive) so you can really see the pattern:
- I used to drive a manual car. (Not any more.)
- I am used to driving a manual car. (It feels easy.)
- I’m getting used to driving a manual car. (I am still learning.)
Two simple checks will save you most of the time:
- Is there a form of be or get in front of used to? If yes, use the gerund (-ing).
- Is used to standing alone (or with did/didn’t)? If yes, use the bare infinitive.
5. Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)
Mistake 1: Mixing up infinitive and gerund.
- ✖ I am used to live in Malta.
- ✔ I am used to living in Malta.
Whenever you see am / is / are / was / were used to, the next verb must end in -ing.
Mistake 2: Adding -ing after the past habit form.
- ✖ I used to playing tennis.
- ✔ I used to play tennis.
Mistake 3: Forgetting that the negative drops the ‘d’.
- ✖ I didn’t used to smoke.
- ✔ I didn’t use to smoke.
Mistake 4: Pronunciation. In all three structures, used to is pronounced /juːstə/, with a soft ‘s’ and a schwa, not /juːzd tuː/. Saying it the right way will instantly make your spoken English sound more natural.
6. Mini quiz: ten questions
Choose the correct option in each sentence. Write your answers down before scrolling to the key.
- When I was a child, I (used to / am used to) walk to school every day.
- Don’t worry about the bus timetable – you’ll soon (be used to / get used to) it.
- She (didn’t use to / didn’t used to) like olives, but now she loves them.
- I can’t sleep with the window open. I’m not (used to / using to) the noise.
- (Did you use to / Did you used to) have long hair?
- After three months in Malta, he was finally (used to speak / used to speaking) English every day.
- My grandparents (used to live / were used to live) in a small village in Gozo.
- It took her a while to (get used to drive / get used to driving) on the left.
- I (am used to / used to) get nervous before exams, but I’m calmer now.
- We (are used to / are using to) eating dinner late in the evening.
7. Answers and next step
Quiz key:
- used to walk
- get used to
- didn’t use to
- used to
- Did you use to
- used to speaking
- used to live
- get used to driving
- used to (past habit – I no longer get nervous)
- are used to eating
How did you do? If you got eight or more right, your grasp of these three structures is solid – the next step is using them in conversation until they feel automatic. If a few caught you out, that is exactly what classroom practice is for.
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