ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:19:31 GMT

Eladio wrote:
Whatâs the difference between these two sentences? I read both in a dictionary and Iâm confused.

She wasnât used to him away but she soon got used to it. Now she is used to seeing him once in a year.
She didnât use to him away but she soon got used to it. Now she is used to seeing him once in a year.

The point is that I believe to understand that âShe used toâ is a past tense, so âShe didnât use toâ¦â is the negative form of this past tense. Now, âSheâs used toâ is a present tense, so the negative form of this present tense is âShe isnât used toâ¦â. Now, âShe wasnât used toâ¦â sounds to me like a negative (another?) form of the past tense. Is that correct? In above sentences the use of past forms âwasnâtâ and âdidnâtâ tends to confuse, I believe, to a not English speaker, and to think that both are different forms of the past.
Did you use to play tennis when you were younger? (Past, right?)
Are you used to play tennis? (Present, right?)
I donât know if Iâm being clear in explaining my confusion.

Dear Mister Micawber and MrPedantic thank you for your help with my post âPlease, help!!â. Mister Micawber, your advice related to the title of that post (âPlease, help!!) is important to me. The fact is that Iâm a native Spanish speaker and Iâm certainly learning the real spoken English in streets and with all of you in EnglishForums; I mean, in Spanish âPlease, help!!â doesnât implies necessarily a panic situation. Weâre used to use many exclamation marks. So, Iâm sorry. And I would like to thank CalifJim and Clive for their help with my recent post âNeedless / unnecessaryâ.

Hi Eladio,

In addition to the experts' comment, here is my two cents if that may help...

I used to lived next door to John = sometime ago, John was my neighbor. [used to] is a phrasal expression which denotes the long-gone past . i.e. if someone said "I used to care about you", it means the caring no longer exists any more. The use of this phrase is not so much concerned with the exact past time but what happened in the past.

My parents used to take me to the parks on Sundays when I was little.

Be used to means something differenet. i.e. I am used to having my coffee black. This means I am accustomed to drinking coffee without sugar.

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

CalifJim — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:04:23 GMT

<<
I was used to working very hard last month (wrong??right??) Wrong.

Does that caution also ~~applies~~ apply to BE USED TO? Yes.

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

Magic79 — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:02:14 GMT

According to Michael Swan's Practical English Usage, we cannot use USED TO to simply talk about what happened at a past time, or how long it took, or how many times it happened.

a. I used to work very hard last month (WRONG).

How about BE USED TO:

b. I was used to working very hard last month (wrong??right??)

Does that caution also applies to BE USED TO?

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

CalifJim — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 03:29:11 GMT

De nada, Eladio.

Did you use to go to the movies? (Is that right?) YES
Didn't you use to go to the movies? (Is that right?) YES

Was you used to drinking wine? (Is that right?) NO Were you ... (The rest is OK.)
Wasn't you used to drinking wine? (Is that right?) NO Weren't you ... (The rest is OK.)

[It's "you were", never "you was".]

I used to smoke. = At some time in the past, I had the habit of smoking.

I was used to smoking. = At that time (in the past) I was accustomed to smoking, i.e., I was familiar and comfortable and experienced with the act of smoking. When I smoked, I didn't gasp and cough like someone who is not used to smoking / not an experienced smoker.

Does this help? I hope so.

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

Eladio — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 18:56:41 GMT

Hi CalifJim,
Thank you. But what about questions:

Did you use to go to the movies? (Is that right?)
Didn't you use to go to the movies? (Is that right?)

Was you used to drinking wine? (Is that right?)
Wasn't you used to drinking wine? (Is that right?)

Now, you said that "I used to go to the movies" and "I was used to drinking wine" are forms of the past. Then, what's the difference between the following two sentences?
I used to smoke.
I was used to smoking.

And again thank you in advance. MuchÃsimas gracias, amigo.
Eladio

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

CalifJim — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 17:49:26 GMT

Something is wrong with that second sentence.

That aside, here are the expressions you are trying to disambiguate:
_________________
Habit, repeated action:

I go to the movies. I don't go to the movies. (present) [voy / suelo ...]
I used to go to the movies. I didn't use to go to the movies. (past) [iba / solÃa ...]

Note: NO -ing form after "use(d) to". "use", not "used", in the past negative.
_________________
Familiarity, comfort:

I'm used to drinking wine. I'm not used to drinking wine. (present) [estoy acostumbrado]
I was used to drinking wine. I wasn't used to drinking wine. (past) [estaba acostumbrado]

Note: -ING form after "used to". Never "use", always "used".
_________________
There is another.
To utilize (a tool):

This hammer is used to pound nails. This hammer isn't used to pound nails.
This hammer was used to pound nails. This hammer wasn't used to pound nails.

Note: NO -ing form. Always "used", not "use". In this case, "used to" means "utilized for the purpose of".
_____________

Hope this helps.

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

nona the brit — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 14:55:58 GMT

Plz is a very informal shortening of please.

She wasnât used to him away but she soon got used to it. Now she is used to seeing him once in a year.
This makes sense as explained.
She didnât use to him away but she soon got used to it. Now she is used to seeing him once in a year.
She didn't use to him away makes no sense.

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

Eladio — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 14:52:06 GMT

Aadan,
Unfortunately I don't understand your reply. What's the meaning of "plz"?

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

nona the brit — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 14:50:51 GMT

She wasnât used to him away but she soon got used to it.
She was not accustomed to him (being) away but she soon got accustomed to it.

Now she is used to seeing him once in a year.
Now she is accustomed to seeing him once a year.

Notice that a form of 'to be' appears between She and used when it has this meaning.

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

Eladio — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 14:49:33 GMT

Dear nona the brit,
Thank you, but I feel you didn't answer to my question, did you? I mean, the difference between that two sentences. I knew what you have explained to me.

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

aadan — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 14:25:48 GMT

i dont understand yet plz can you understand me

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

nona the brit — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 14:25:05 GMT

'Used to' has two meanings.

It also means 'accustomed to'.

So, She is used to him being away - she is accustomed to him being away (from home?).

I used to; Iâm used to

Eladio — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 14:02:54 GMT

Whatâs the difference between these two sentences? I read both in a dictionary and Iâm confused.

She wasnât used to him away but she soon got used to it. Now she is used to seeing him once in a year.
She didnât use to him away but she soon got used to it. Now she is used to seeing him once in a year.

The point is that I believe to understand that âShe used toâ is a past tense, so âShe didnât use toâ¦â is the negative form of this past tense. Now, âSheâs used toâ is a present tense, so the negative form of this present tense is âShe isnât used toâ¦â. Now, âShe wasnât used toâ¦â sounds to me like a negative (another?) form of the past tense. Is that correct? In above sentences the use of past forms âwasnâtâ and âdidnâtâ tends to confuse, I believe, to a not English speaker, and to think that both are different forms of the past.
Did you use to play tennis when you were younger? (Past, right?)
Are you used to play tennis? (Present, right?)
I donât know if Iâm being clear in explaining my confusion.

Dear Mister Micawber and MrPedantic thank you for your help with my post âPlease, help!!â. Mister Micawber, your advice related to the title of that post (âPlease, help!!) is important to me. The fact is that Iâm a native Spanish speaker and Iâm certainly learning the real spoken English in streets and with all of you in EnglishForums; I mean, in Spanish âPlease, help!!â doesnât implies necessarily a panic situation. Weâre used to use many exclamation marks. So, Iâm sorry. And I would like to thank CalifJim and Clive for their help with my recent post âNeedless / unnecessaryâ.

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