Past habit – used to/would/past simple
When we talk about things that happened in the past but don’t happen anymore we can do it in different ways.
Used to
Used to
- We used to live in New York when I was a kid.
- There didn’t use to be a petrol station there. When was it built?
We can use ‘used to’ to talk about past states ….
- I used to go swimming every Thursday when I was at school.
- I used to smoke but I gave up a few years ago.
… or we can use ‘used to’ to talk about repeated past actions and generalizations in the past, such as Most people in the south used to be farmers.
Remember that ‘used to’ is only for past states/actions that don’t happen now – we can’t use it for things that still happen now. Also, ‘used to + infinitive’ should not be confused with ‘be/get used to + ‘ing’ form’ – this is covered in a separate section.
Would
Remember that ‘used to’ is only for past states/actions that don’t happen now – we can’t use it for things that still happen now. Also, ‘used to + infinitive’ should not be confused with ‘be/get used to + ‘ing’ form’ – this is covered in a separate section.
Would
- Every Saturday I would go on a long bike ride.
- My teachers would always say “Sit down and shut up!”
We can use ‘would’ to talk about repeated past actions.
Often either ‘would’ or ‘used to’ is possible. Both of these sentences are possible.
Often either ‘would’ or ‘used to’ is possible. Both of these sentences are possible.
- Every Saturday, I would go on a long bike ride.
- Every Saturday I used to go on a long bike ride.
However, only ‘used to’ is possible when we talk about past states.
- We used to live in New York when I was a kid.
We would live in New York when I was a kid.
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