Friday, February 17, 2012

Be used to VS used to

-> “Get/be used to”:  
With the verbs “get” or “to BE”, used to is an adjective in the present: “I AM used to…” is the same as saying, “I AM accustomed to…”
* When followed by a verb, the verb must be in the –ing form


1.  I live in an apartment on a busy road. In the first week it was difficult to get to sleep, but now we’re used to the noise from the traffic. It doesn’t bother us in the least.

2. Here in the Northeast of Brazil, the heat is really oppressive at times. If you can get used to the climate though, it’s absolutely worth it – just for the fantastic beaches, and of course a year-round summer.

3. I’m used to teaching English classes early in the morning and late in the evening. The great thing about teaching from home is that I’m able to take a nap just about every afternoon… I’m used to having a flexible lifestyle.
 

->Used to”:  
WITHOUT the verb “get” or “to be”, used to is a verb in the past tense: something you used to do regularly in the past as a routine/ habit that you don't do anymore.
*Also used with states (i.e. a state of mind/ state of being)
 


1. I used to work on the cruise ships as a photographer 11 years ago. It was my dream job until I decided to live and work in Latin America.

2. I used to teach English at some large English schools in Central America. When I came to Brazil I decided to focus exclusively on teaching private English classes from home. Since then I’ve never looked back.

15 comments :

  1. Hey Frank, grammar is welcome as well.

    What happened to the chat box? o.O

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's a great job, helping people learn more and more each passing day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Marcos... It seems like only you and I were using the chat box... Now you have my email... so we can communicate via email or on FB... or in the comment section. I know it's not the same as a live chat... but it seemed as if neither of us were online or available when the other person was. If, on the other hand, you can give me a good reason to put it back up then I will... convince me!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great exploting grammar through cartoons as well - well done!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'll probably tackle present perfect in the next "Grammar post"... but for now, the next post will be about "The best thing since sliced bread"... an idiomatic expression.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey Frank, the Twitter idea is awesome! Thank you, now we can read tons of examples. =]

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm glad you like it Marcos... you're the first person to comment on it... it's kind of addictive, don't you think!!?... I find myself reading the tweets even though I don't need to practice my English! Eugene (Pluton) is helping with an idea to make flash cards to remember the expressions.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Really addictive!

    A few days ago I started using Anki. It's a great tool when it comes to memorizing new expressions and phrasal verbs.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Frank and Marcos,

    I think these grammar posts are definitely useful. At least, to brush up on grammar for me once in a while.

    Marcos, what is the twitter idea?

    Frank, yes, I'm working on it right now. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Pluton, take a look at the bottom of each post. Above comment box.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Aha, I opened the site in a clean browser, and saw a twitter-styled box with live tweets containing the current expression (as far as I understood). I hadn't seen it before because the browser blocks all that social networking stuff (buttons, share links, etc). I must admit though the idea looks great, I'll try to get used to it.

    Regarding the Anki deck, I've created a testing version, more info here: http://natively-speaking-comics.blogspot.com/2012/02/make-up.html?showComment=1329603900568#c5856557148249511600

    ReplyDelete
  12. I loved the grammar. More more more!

    ReplyDelete
  13. @beccainbrazil Haha! Yes, I will slip another grammar lesson in next week, just because you asked!
    Abraço!

    ReplyDelete