A Corpora-based Analysis of I was used to, I got used to, and I became used to

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of the frequency of I was used to, I got used to, and I became used to in the Corpus of Contemporary American English and the British National Corpus. The COCA clearly shows that I was used to may be the most preferable one for Americans, followed by I got used to, and I became used to, in that order. When it comes to the genre frequency of the COCA, it is interesting to note that in the fiction genre, I was used to may be the most commonly used one. The BNC clearly indicates, on the other hand, that I was used to may be the most preferred by British people, followed by I got used to, and I became used to. With respect to the genre frequency of the BNC, it is interesting to note that in the fiction genre, I was used to may be the most widely used. When it comes to the frequency of was used to and nouns, the expression was used to measure is the most preferable one for Americans, followed by was used to people, was used to rate, was used to power, was used to fuel, was used to group, and was used to film. With respect to the frequency of was used to and gerunds, the expression was used to being is the most preferable one for Americans, followed by was used to seeing, was used to having, was used to getting, was used to doing, was used to doing, was used to working, was used to hearing, and was used to going, in that order. Additionally, the COCA shows that got used to life and got used to things are the most preferred ones in America, followed by got used to people, and got used to weapons (got used to walking, got used to violence, got used to name calling), in that order. The COCA also indicates that got used to being is the most preferable one for Americans, followed by got used to seeing, got used to having, got used to hearing, got used to wearing, got used to living, and got used to using (got used to doing). The COCA further shows that became used to seeing is the most preferred by Americans and followed by became used to writing (became used to tying, became used to talking).