Use of "Would", "Used to" and "Simple Past"

Use of "Would", "Used to" and "Simple Past"

Past Habits 

Past Habits 

Past habits are actions of states of being that we did over and over in the past. We are no longer doing them. They are finished.

The important thing is that we did not do them only once. We repeated them in the past. Lets talk about discussing past habits, actions, or states of being using used to, would, and the simple past.

Past habits are finished now, but they were actions you did repeatedly in the past.

Past habits with used to

We can use used to to talk about both past habits, actions, or states of being.

Use the following formula:

subject + used to + base form of the verb.

For the negative

 subject + didn’t use to + base form of the verb.

Look at the examples:

• My father used to work after school when he was a boy.  

• My uncle didn’t use to work after school, because his family was wealthy.

• I used to do tai chi in high school.  

• When my brother was younger, he used to play football every day.

• I didn’t use to do track in high school.

Past habits with would

We can discuss past habits using would in much the same way, and with the same meaning as used to. Here is the formula:

subject + would + base form of the verb.

for the negative use

subject + wouldn’t + base form of the verb.

Look at the examples:

• When we were young, our mother would cook delicious meals every day.  We could also say, “Our mother used to cook delicious meals every day.”

• When we were young, our mother wouldn’t cook delicious meals. She was always too busy.

• Every weekend I would take a long bike ride during summer vacations.  “Every weekend I used to take a long bike ride” is also correct.

There is one important difference between would and used to. 

We can use would only to discuss past habits or actions.

We cannot use would to discuss past states of being.

Instead, use used to for that.

Look at the examples:

• I used to live in France.  Not I would live in France.

• I used to be afraid of the dark.  Not I would be afraid of the dark.

Past habits with the simple past

We can talk about past habits, past actions, and past states of being using the simple past. Be careful, however. The person you are talking to needs to understand that you are not talking about something that happened only once. You are talking about something that happened over and over again. You need to make sure that you the person you are talking to understand by the context that this was a repeated action.

Look at the examples:

• I had a dog when I was young.   Or, I used to have a dog when I was young.

• I worked part-time in high school.   Or, I used to (would) work part-time when I was in high school.

• She was sick all the time when she was a baby.   Or, she used to be sick all the time when she was a baby.

• My kids attended Carson Elementary School many years ago.  Or, My kids used to attend Carson Elementary School.

Used to for something besides past habits

There is another way to use used to that does not involve past habits. Used to can also mean to become accustomed to something. We use this to describe something that once felt strange, but now feels normal.

Look at the examples:

• When I first came to the USA, it was strange to hear English everywhere. But I’m used to it now. It’s no longer strange. It feels normal.

• It took some time to get used to my new schedule, but I’m comfortable with it now.

so...

You now know that we can discuss our past habits using used to, would, or the simple past. We can only discuss past actions with would. Do not use would to discuss past states of being. We can use both used to and the simple past to talk about past habits, actions, or states of being. When we use the simple past to discuss past habits, we need to make sure our listener or reader knows by context that the action did not happen just once. It happened again and again. The download will give you more practice talking about your past habits.

Multiple Choice

I ___ have an electronic pet called Tamagochi.

• would

• used to

• nothing

Multiple Choice

I ___ love it a lot.

• would

• used to

• nothing

Multiple Choice

I ___ have a horse, but I sold it.

• would

• used to

• nothing

Multiple Choice

Select the best option.

• Before TVs were common, my grandparents would listen to the radio.

• Before TVs were common, my grandparents used to be listening to the radio.

• Before TVs were common, my grandparents will listen to the radio.

Multiple Choice

Select the best option.

• Did you used to go to my university?

• Would you go to my university in 2001?

• Did you use to go to my university?