TOEIC Link Part 5: used to, be used to, and get used to

Few groups of words trap careful readers as reliably as these three. They share the word used, they all touch on habit and time, and they sit one preposition apart from each other. Yet I used to drive, I am used to driving, and I am getting used to driving describe three different realities. Part 5 loves this cluster because the answer hinges on a single grammatical signal — the form of the following verb, the presence of be, the choice between an infinitive and an -ing form. This guide separates the three for good.

The three structures at a glance

Read these side by side before anything else. The differences are small on the page and large in meaning.

• used to + base verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true. I used to work in Osaka. (I do not now.)
• be used to + noun / -ing — currently accustomed to something; it feels normal. I am used to working late. (It does not bother me.)
• get used to + noun / -ing — the process of becoming accustomed. I am getting used to working late. (It is becoming normal.)

The grammatical tell is what comes after used to. A base verb signals the past-habit meaning. An -ing form or noun signals familiarity — and then you check for be versus get to decide between the state and the process.

Meaning 1: "used to" for past habits

This is the one most learners meet first. Used to + base verb describes something that was repeatedly true in the past and is not true now. The contrast with the present is the whole point.

The company used to outsource its payroll, but it now handles it in-house. Mr. Tanaka used to commute by train before he moved closer to the office.

Notice there is no be here and the verb is in its base form: outsource, commute. In TOEIC Link contexts the sentence usually contains an explicit or implied "but now" to set up the past-versus-present contrast. If the sentence frames a discontinued routine, this is your structure.

A frequent distractor is would for past habits. Would can replace used to for repeated past actions (He would arrive early every day), but not for past states: you can say I used to own a car but not I would own a car. Part 5 occasionally exploits this by offering would where a state verb makes it wrong. For the broader behaviour of these helping verbs, see our guide on modal verbs and modality.

Meaning 2: "be used to" for established familiarity

Add a form of be and switch the following verb to -ing, and the meaning flips from past habit to present familiarity. Be used to means something feels normal because you have done it many times.

After ten years in logistics, she is used to handling tight deadlines. Our overseas clients are used to receiving invoices in English.

Here used to is followed by handling and receiving — -ing forms, not base verbs. The to in this structure is a preposition, not part of an infinitive, which is exactly why a gerund follows it. That distinction trips up even strong readers, so it is worth internalising: a noun also fits perfectly (She is used to deadlines), confirming the to is prepositional. If you want to drill the underlying gerund-versus-infinitive instinct, our guide on gerund versus infinitive after verbs covers the wider pattern.

Meaning 3: "get used to" for the process

Swap be for get (or become) and you describe the transition — the act of becoming accustomed, not the finished state.

New hires usually get used to the reporting software within a month. It took him a while to get used to working from home.

Get used to is dynamic: it implies change over time, so it pairs naturally with progressive forms (is getting used to) and with time expressions like within a month or after a while. If a sentence emphasises adaptation in progress rather than an established habit, get beats be.

How Part 5 weaponises the difference

The test rarely asks you to define these structures; it embeds them and lets the answer choices punish a misread. Three patterns recur:

1. Base verb vs. -ing trap. The blank follows used to and the choices include both commute and commuting. The surrounding meaning — discontinued past habit versus current familiarity — decides which form is correct.
2. Missing or present "be." A sentence with no auxiliary forces the past-habit reading; one with is/are/was before used to forces the familiarity reading.
3. be vs. get. Both fit grammatically, but only one fits the meaning. Look for clues of completion (is used to) versus process (is getting used to).

The discipline is the same each time: read the verb form after used to first, then check for be or get, then confirm against the sentence's time frame.

A two-step decision method

When you see used to in a Part 5 blank, run this quick check:

• Step 1 — What follows? Base verb → past habit (Meaning 1). -ing or noun → familiarity (Meanings 2 or 3).
• Step 2 — be or get? If you are in familiarity territory, a form of be means the established state; get or become means the ongoing process.

Two signals, two decisions, and the cluster resolves cleanly every time.

Common errors to avoid

• "I am used to work late." Wrong — familiarity requires the -ing form: used to working.
• "He used to working in Tokyo." Wrong — past habit requires the base verb: used to work.
• "Did you used to smoke?" Wrong — in questions and negatives with did, drop the -d: Did you use to smoke?
• Confusing the two _to_s. In used to + base verb, to is part of the infinitive. In be/get used to + -ing, to is a preposition. They are spelled the same and behave oppositely.

Practice the contrast

To lock this in, build three sentences about the same activity — say, attending early meetings — one in each structure: I used to attend / I am used to attending / I am getting used to attending. Saying them back to back trains your ear to hear the difference the test is checking for. When a Part 5 item offers competing verb forms after used to, you will already know which signal to read first.

For more on how clause-level signals steer verb choice, continue with our guide on conditionals and if-clauses.