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Understanding Used To and Would in English

The document explains the differences between 'used to' and 'would' in describing past actions and situations. 'Used to' is used for repeated actions that no longer occur and can be used with both action and state verbs, while 'would' is used for past habits and is more formal, but cannot be used with state verbs. The past simple can serve as an alternative to both, but does not emphasize the repetitive nature of the action.

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Maria Miguel Pereira
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27 views3 pages

Understanding Used To and Would in English

The document explains the differences between 'used to' and 'would' in describing past actions and situations. 'Used to' is used for repeated actions that no longer occur and can be used with both action and state verbs, while 'would' is used for past habits and is more formal, but cannot be used with state verbs. The past simple can serve as an alternative to both, but does not emphasize the repetitive nature of the action.

Uploaded by

Maria Miguel Pereira
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

WOULD / USED TO / PAST SIMPLE

Used to and would describe actions, situations, and events that happened in the past. Although these
two verbs can be used interchangeably in some cases, there are some differences between the two

used to + infinitive would + infinitive

• Used to is mainly used to describe repeated • Would can also be used to indicate a repeated
actions in the past, that no longer happen. Therefore, it action, situation or event in the past. Would is always
cannot be used with actions that still happen. Used to is used with action verbs.
always followed by another verb in the infinitive. • We can use would to refer to repeated past
actions that don't happen anymore. Would for past
• It can be used with action verbs. It can also be habits is slightly more formal than used to.
used with state verbs like love, like, feel, etc. Verbs like
live and have can also be used with used to. - When I was little, I would get up early on
Sunday mornings.
- We used to live in New York when I was a kid. - Every Sunday, we would visit our
- She used to smoke but she gave up a few years ago. grandmother.
- There didn't use to be a supermarket there. When did - When I was a child, I would go on long bike
it open? rides.
- Did you use to have a garden? - My dad would read me amazing stories every
night at bedtime.
- When I was at school, I would spend hours and
(We can always use the past simple as an alternative to hours at the library.
used to or would to talk about past states or habits. The
main difference is that the past simple doesn't emphasise • It is important to notice that would cannot be
the repeated or continuous nature of the action or used with stative verbs to describe the past actions.
situation. It is always safe to use used to with such verbs.
Ex: We went to the same beach every summer.
We used to go to the same beach every summer. I used to love gardening.
We would go to the same beach every summer.) NOT
I would love gardening.

ATTENTION! If something happened only once, we must use the past simple - I went to Egypt in 2014.
2. Choose the correct option(s).

1. I ___ a really sporty person.

would be / used to be

2. In my first year at university, I ___ for an hour every morning before breakfast.

used to run / would run

3. Then I ___ the university boxing team and I really started to train hard.

joined / used to join

4. During that time, I ___ to spend at least two hours in the gym every day.

would like / used to like

5. When I started my training, I ___ my diet completely.

would change / changed

Susana Ribeiro
WOULD / USED TO / PAST SIMPLE
6. I ___ three eggs with toast and fruit for breakfast.

would eat / used to eat

7. I ___ sugar in my tea because it wasn't on my diet plan.

didn't use to have / wouldn't have

8. But then I ___ my arm and that was the end of my boxing career!

would break / broke

Susana Ribeiro
WOULD / USED TO / PAST SIMPLE

Susana Ribeiro

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