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TOEIC Link Part 5 — Used To vs Be Used To: Infinitive or Gerund Selection

We used to commute — or are we now used to commuting? Part 5 pairs used to do against be/get used to doing because they share three words and mean opposite things: used to + base verb is a past habit that stopped, while be used to + gerund is being accustomed to something. This guide fixes the choice on the frame around the blank, not on feel, and drills the distractor logic on workplace items.

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After a month, the new hires got used to ____ the reporting system every morning. The options are update, updates, updating, and to update. Learners who see used to reach for the base verb update, because they remember "used to + base verb." The intended answer is updating — the frame here is get used to, which means become accustomed to and takes a gerund, not the past-habit used to that takes a base verb. Three shared words, two opposite grammars. This guide takes them apart so the choice is structural, not a matter of ear.

Two frames, three shared words, opposite meanings

used to and be/get used to look almost identical but belong to different grammar families:

used to + base verb → a past habit or state that has stopped

be / get used to + noun / gerund → being (or becoming) accustomed to something

Read the skeletons and the split is clean:

  • We **used to** work from the office. — past habit, now ended. Base verb work.
  • We **are used to** working from home. — accustomed to it now. Gerund working.
  • We **got used to** working from home. — became accustomed over time. Gerund working.

Same three letters in used to, but the presence of be or get flips both the meaning and the verb form that follows.

The one-second test: is there a be/get before "used to"?

You do not need to feel the sentence. Look at the word immediately before used to:

  • Nothing — just used to on its own → past habit → base verb (used to travel, used to be)
  • A form of be or get (am, is, are, was, were, get, getting, got) → accustomed to → gerund or noun (are used to travelling, got used to the noise)

The manager ____ to review every invoice, but now the system does it. The frame is bare used to and the meaning is a stopped habit → base verb, used to review. The staff are used to ____ every invoice manually. The frame is are used to → gerund, reviewing. The words around the blank tell you which frame you are in before you ever weigh the meaning. The wider gerund-versus-infinitive logic behind this sits in gerunds and infinitives.

Why "used to do" feels like it should take a gerund (and doesn't)

The confusion is that used to in the past-habit sense looks like the preposition to that would normally trigger a gerund. It is not. In used to travel, the to is part of an infinitive (to travel), so the base verb follows. In used to travelling, the to is a preposition governed by be/get used, so a gerund follows. Same two letters, two different jobs — this is the exact ambiguity Part 5 exploits, and it mirrors the preposition-versus-conjunction split covered in despite vs although preposition or conjunction selection.

The negative and question forms

Part 5 sometimes hides the frame inside a negative or question, where the auxiliary did strips the d off used:

  • They **didn't use to** outsource support. ✓ — past habit, negated. Note use, not used, after did.
  • **Did** you **use to** work in logistics? ✓ — question form, again use.

For the accustomed sense, the negation stays on be:

  • The team **isn't used to** working weekends. ✓ — used, with the d, because there is no auxiliary did here.

If you see did or didn't before the blank, you are in the past-habit family and the spelling drops to use to.

Worked items

1. Before the merger, the two offices ____ separate accounting systems. (A) are used to using (B) used to use (C) used to using (D) get used to use The meaning is a past setup that ended, with no be/get present → past habit → base verb after used to → (B) used to use.

2. It took a few weeks, but the analysts finally got used to ____ the new dashboard. (A) navigate (B) navigated (C) navigating (D) to navigate The frame is got used to → accustomed → gerund → (C) navigating.

3. Remote employees ____ starting their day with a video stand-up. (A) used to (B) are used to (C) use to (D) used The blank needs the accustomed sense with a gerund starting following, so it must be (B) are used to. Bare used to would demand a base verb, not starting.

The decision in one line

Check for be or get right before used to. Present → accustomed → gerund or noun. Absent → stopped past habit → base verb. And after did / didn't, drop the d: use to. Let the frame, not the meaning, pick the form. For another pair where an identical-looking word forces opposite verb forms, review as if and as though tense selection for real versus unreal comparison.