I Used to VS. I am used to

 

Photo credit: Freepik 

I used to + Base Verb Versus I am used to + Verb-ing

Many ESL students are confused with this. They wonder why the verb in the first TO is in the base form but it’s in the –ing form for the next.

It’s because the two TOs are different. One is an Infinitive, and the other is a Preposition, but this will be discussed further in another blog post.

Let's discuss how different they are frome each other. 

1. I used to + Base Verb= We use this to state an activity that happened regularly in the past. The activity does not happen anymore.

Examples: 

My sister used to exercise every day. She does not exercise anymore; she has become lazy.

My dog used to pee on the floor. I have trained it to pee in the garden.

I used to have short hair. My hair is very long now.

The building is now a movie theatre. It used to be a school building.

 

2. Be Verb + used to + Verb-ing= We use this when we talk about something that someone (Subject) does easily and comfortably, something that a person is accustomed to doing.

Let’s take a look at these examples:

Yuko is going to sing at a wedding. She is not nervous, she is not scared. She is used to singing at weddings. (This means, singing at weddings is not a problem for her, she can do it without getting nervous.

 Now, let’s compare and contrast the two:

 I used to sing at weddings. (I did this regularly before, I don’t do it anymore.)

I am used to singing at weddings. (This is comfortable for me to do, I don’t get scared, I don’t get nervous, doing it is natural for me.)

Japanese Translation by Google Translate

 多くのESLの学生はこれと混同しています。彼らは、最初のTOの動詞が基本形式であるのに、次のTOの動詞が–ing形式である理由を疑問に思います。

 2つのTOが異なるためです。 1つは不定詞で、もう1つは前置詞ですが、これについては別のブログ投稿で詳しく説明します。

 I used to + Base Verb

これを使用して、過去に定期的に発生したアクティビティを示します。活動はもう起こりません。

次の例を見てみましょう。

 My sister used to exercise every day. She does not exercise anymore; she has become lazy.

My dog used to pee on the floor. I have trained it to pee in the garden.

I used to have short hair. My hair is very long now.

The building is now a movie theatre. It used to be a school building.

 Be Verb + Used to + Verb-ing

これは、誰か（被験者）が簡単かつ快適に行うこと、人が慣れていることについて話すときに使用します。

 これらの例を見てみましょう。

Yuko is going to sing at a wedding. She is not nervous, she is not scared. She is used to singing at weddings. （つまり、結婚式で歌うことは彼女にとって問題ではなく、彼女は緊張することなくそれを行うことができます。）

 それでは、2つを比較対照してみましょう。

I used to sing at weddings.

（以前は定期的にこれを行っていましたが、現在は行っていません。）

 

I am used to singing at weddings.

（これは私にとって快適で、怖がらず、緊張せず、自然なことです。）