Used to using ‘used to’

Posted by Pak Guru on June 1st, 2016 | 0 comments | grammar, IELTS, speaking, Task 2, terbiasa, writing

I’m not used to invite visitors to my house.

‘Used to‘ can have more than one meaning:

1. I used to invite visitors to my house. (= I don’t invite them any more.)
2. I’m not used to inviting visitors to my house. (= I don’t do it very often.)

If you’re talking about something you did regularly in the past, but don’t do now:

used to + V1

On the other hand if you’re talking about an activity that you don’t do very often and as a result find difficult or awkward:

used to ___ing

Let’s contrast these meanings one more time:

• When Europeans visit Bali and eat in a restaurant, the staff assume that these visitors do not want to eat spicy food because Europeans are not used to eating spicy food.
• On the other hand I have a Balinese friend who used to eat spicy food but had to stop because he developed stomach ulcers.

Ouch!