Get used to means to become familiar with something new, such as a place, a routine or a job. The phrase describes the process: at first something feels strange, then it feels normal. When the habit is already there, use be used to: I'm used to the noise.
Want to remember get used to?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
get used to + noun/-ing; be used to + noun/-ing; used to + verb (past habit)
- It took me a month to get used to working from home.
- You'll soon get used to driving on the left in the UK.
- I've lived here for two years, but I still can't get used to the long winters.
What changed
First versionI can't get used to wake up at six every morning.
RevisionI can't get used to waking up at six every morning.
After get used to, you name the thing you are getting used to, as if it were an object: the noise, the new job. So an action takes the -ing form: waking up. A plain verb such as wake up does not fit after to here.
Used to + verb means something quite different: “did in the past, but not any more”. I used to live in Minsk means I lived in Minsk before. I got used to living in Minsk means I became comfortable living there. The difference shows in get and the -ing form after to.
Your turn
After a few weeks in Japan, I ___ eating with chopsticks.
Show the answer
got used to — A few weeks passed and the person became comfortable with chopsticks, so you need got used to eating. Used to means “did in the past” and is followed by a plain verb: used to eat. Without get or be, used to eating is not possible.
Write about a change you had to get used to: a move, a new job or a new schedule. Say what was hardest to get used to and how long it took.
When I started working night shifts, the hardest thing was getting used to sleeping during the day, and it took me about two months.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.