Past Habits & Adjusting to States

• In US trucking logistics, night dispatchers often need to talk about past habits and how they adapted to new schedules. We use 'used to' and 'would' for past routines, and 'be/get used to' for familiarity.
• Structure
• Meaning
• Example
• used to + verb
• Past states or finished habits
• Mark used to work day shifts in Chicago.
• would + verb
• Repeated past actions (not states)
• She would call drivers at midnight.
• be used to + -ing
• To be familiar with a state
• Brian is now used to staying awake all night.
• get used to + -ing
• The process of adapting
• They are getting used to the night desk.
• Remember
• Use 'used to' for both past actions and past states (like 'know' or 'seem').
• Do not use 'would' for past states like 'have' or 'be'.
• Always follow 'be used to' and 'get used to' with a noun or an -ing verb.
• Use the auxiliary 'did' for questions and negatives with 'used to'.
• Examples
• I didn't use to like the graveyard shift.
• Would you often handle emergency calls in Atlanta?
• Kevin is finally getting used to the quiet hours.
• Common mistakes
• I am use to working nights in Dallas.
• I am used to working nights in Dallas.
• She would be a day dispatcher in Boston.
• She used to be a day dispatcher in Boston.

Complete the sentences

• When I started in Phoenix, I (not / use to) ____ like the graveyard shift.
• Brian (get / use to) ____ the quiet hours in Denver.
• When Sarah worked in Seattle, she (would) ____ answer the emergency line at 3 a.m.
• Are you (be / use to) ____ managing night dispatch in Miami?
• Mark (use to) ____ work for Apex Freight in Chicago.
• We (not / be / use to) ____ such a big rush of calls.

Sources: photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels