Hoje no podcast eu falo sobre being used to something e getting used to something.

Transcrição

Hi, how are you? This is another episode of the Inglesonline podcast. To listen to and download previous episodes and transcripts, go to inglesonline.com.br and click Inglesonline podcast.

Ok, so, every once in a while I get an email from a reader with this question: What’s the difference between ‘be used to’ and ‘get used to’? I wrote a short tip about that two years ago, but I thought it would be great to do a podcast with more examples on being used to something, and getting used to something. And, just to clarify, before we begin… I’m not going to talk about I used to do this or that when I was a child… “I used to do this” describes the past; it’s something you did repeatedly at some point in your life.

So today, I’m not gonna talk about stuff I used to do when I was a child, or stuff my friends used to do when they were in school, no. I’m gonna talk about being used to something, or being used to doing something. For example, I’m used to warm weather. I think most of you guys are too. We’re used to warm weather, we’re accustomed to warm weather. Warm weather is familiar to us. Most of us live in a tropical country, so we’re used to warm weather. I’m not very used to really cold weather.

Here’s another example of something I’m used to. Actually, here’s another example of something I’m used to doing: I’m used to working from home now. A few years ago, when I started working from home… It felt strange, you know? I mean, my home was the place where I watched TV, where I slept, where I had dinner…. So it felt strange when I began working from home. But over the years, I got used to working from home. I got used to working from home. What does that mean? I got used to working from home means… Eu me acostumei a trabalhar em casa. I got used to working from home. So nowadays I’m used to working from home. I’m used to working from home – in Portuguese we say Eu tô acostumada a trabalhar em casa.

So here are a few more examples with being used to something and getting used to something:

* My friend Fernando is Brazilian. He grew up in Brazil and he lived here his entire life. Until last year, that is. Last year, he moved to England. The thing is, in Brazil we drive on the right side of the road, right? In England, it’s the opposite: people drive on the left side of the road. Fernando had a hard time with that. He was very careful in the beginning, but after a year driving on the left side, he got used to it. He got used to driving on the left side. Nowadays, he is used to driving on the left side.

* My sister lived in São Paulo all her life, and then a few years ago she moved to Italy. She actually moved to a very small town in Italy. In São Paulo, my sister was used to the traffic, to the noise, to the shopping malls, to the bars and restaurants. So when she moved to this small Italian town, everything changed. People there have a different way of life, there aren’t many places to go, there isn’t a lot to do, and in the beginning, my sister wasn’t used to it. But, over the years, she got used to this new way of life. She made new friends, she found interesting things to do, and she got used to it. So nowadays, she is used to this new way of life.

* And here’s one more example: a new restaurant opened in my neighborhood some time ago. Actually this restaurant is right across the street from my building. And guess what? This restaurant is always busy, always crowded and it stays open until one or two in the morning every ni...