be used to (adjective)

I wonder how an American pronounces…

be used to
/bi–yuw–stə/

be familiar with something so that
it seems normal or usual; be accustomed to

be (in any tense) + used to + noun, pronoun or gerund

He grew up in a small farm town.
As a child, he was used to small town life.

 

He was used to
/hiy–wəz–ˈyuw–stə/

He was used to a slower pace of life.
He was used to Main Street with very little traffic.

 

He was used to
/hiy–wəz-ˈyuw-stə/

He was used to watching tractor parades down Main Street.
Tractor parades are common in small farm towns in the U.S.
I’ve seen them myself.

 

He was used to
/hiy–wəz–ˈyuw–stə/

He was used to living in a house with a yard…green grass.
Most people in town lived in a house with a yard.

 

He was used to
/hiy–wəz–ˈyuw–stə/

He was used to walking to school.

 

He was used to
/hiy–wəz-ˈyuw–stə/

He was used to
red barns…farmland…open spaces.

 

He’s not used to
/hiyz-ˈnɑt-ˈyuw–stə/

Then he moved to New York…a big change.
He’s not used to living in a big city.

 

He’s not used to
/hiyz-ˈnɑt-ˈyuw–stə/

He’s not used to living in a tiny apartment.

 

He’s not used to
/hiyz–ˈnɑt–ˈyuw–stə/

He is not used to so much traffic….non-stop noise.

 

He’s not used to
/hiyz–ˈnɑt-ˈyuw–stə/

He’s not used to subway cars packed with people.

 

He’s not used to
/hiyz–ˈnɑt–ˈyuw–stə/

He’s not used to crowds of people everywhere.

 

He’s only been in New York a short time.
In our next lesson, we’ll see how he’s doing.

 

Note

He’s not used to
/hiyz-ˈnɑt-ˈyuw-stə/

Notice the stress mark on the word /-ˈnɑt-/
Don’t forget to stress negative forms.

He’s not here.
He isn’t here.
She can’t come.
They won’t do it.
They’re never going to do it.

 

This blog post is
Part 4 of a 5-part series.

Part 1:  used to (past tense verb) [link]
Part 2:  use (regular verb) [link]
Part 3:  use (noun) [link]
Part 4:  be used to (adjective) [link]
Part 5:  get used to (adjective] [link]

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