upaluch
New member
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2011
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- United States
- Current Location
- Ukraine
I teach conversational English. Most questions on grammar that I am asked I can answer with the help of the internet (I am NOT an ESL teacher & didn't learn Grammar in school--they taught us grammar through reading & writing, not by learning rules). Anyway, this question has me baffled & the more information I find the more confused I get!
Rule 1--Verb + Presposition requires a Gerund
Rule 2--When expressing past habits: used to + infinitive (without a 2nd to)
Exception: Used to + infinitive when expressing a negative statement or when asking questions (ex: I didn't use to swim every day.)
So...how do I explain this:
I'm not used to getting up this early.
It's negative but we use the gerund--is there an exception to the exception or am I myself totally confused? Thanks for your help!
Rule 1--Verb + Presposition requires a Gerund
Rule 2--When expressing past habits: used to + infinitive (without a 2nd to)
Exception: Used to + infinitive when expressing a negative statement or when asking questions (ex: I didn't use to swim every day.)
So...how do I explain this:
I'm not used to getting up this early.
It's negative but we use the gerund--is there an exception to the exception or am I myself totally confused? Thanks for your help!