2.4: Used to and Would
- Page ID
- 271148
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Would vs. Used to
Narrating Past Behavior or Past Habits
Read the Grammar In Context
We kids had a wonderful time when my family lived by the ocean. We would walk to the beach after school. We would quickly find a place to sit and put on our swim suits. Then, we would rush into the oncoming waves and swim our worries away. We would jump the waves and body-surf until mom would pick us up. Then, we would go home, clean up, eat dinner, do our homework, and sleep soundly. The next day, it would begin all over again. We really loved those days with our feet in the sand and our faces in the saltwater.
When I was fourteen, my father accepted a new job. We had to move to a city inland. Our days changed. We used to walk to the beach. But after our move, it was too far away. So instead, we walked to a nearby recreational center to swim. The pool was big, long, clean and very flat. We used to think it was boring because it had no action like the waves that we were used to¹. Shortly after our move, we kids joined the swim team and learned to swim competitively. After a while, we did not miss the beach so much.
Grammar Presentation
Used to and Would are used to talk about activity that was a past habit. The habit was occurring at an earlier stage of life but does not occur now.
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WOULD – PAST ROUTINE ACTIVITY |
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Would and used (to) have somewhat similar meanings. Would expresses that (1) an activity was a past routine, typical behavior, having duration or repetition and (2) it was often related to another activity. The focus is on the past activity (no particular attention to whether it continues or not.) |
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SUBJECT |
MODAL VERB |
BASE FORM OF VERB + REST OF SENTENCE |
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We |
would |
go to the beach after school. (Another activity is often relative |
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We |
would |
put on our swimsuits and then walk to the beach. |
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We |
would |
rush into the waves. |
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We kids |
would |
jump in and then swim our worries away. |
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USED (TO) – DISCONTINUED ROUTINE / HABIT |
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Used to /use to expresses that (1) an activity was a past habit that occurred at an earlier stage of life and (2) it ended. The focus is on the past habit not its duration. This activity or habit occurred but no longer continues because of a change of circumstances or change of willpower. (I used to smoke!) |
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SUBJECT |
FORM OF "USED TO" |
INFINITIVE + REST OF SENTENCE |
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We |
used |
to go to the beach. (No other activity is required.) |
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We |
used |
to put on our swimsuits on the beach. (Now we are adults and don't do that.) |
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We |
used |
to rush into the waves, but now we don't. We check for jellyfish first. |
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We kids |
used |
to swim our worries away, but we cannot do that anymore. |
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(You) → |
Did you use |
to do the same? |
¹were used to — accustomed to: We are used to going to school. See Used vs. Be used to.
²used / did use – remember to remove the final -d from used when in a question (Did you use to swim?) or negative context (You didn't use to swim.)
competitively (Adv) — as a participant in competitions (sports); in a manner of trying or desiring to win
inland (N) — an area away from a body of water; interior
jellyfish (N) – a sea creature that floats in the water and gives painful stings with several of its long tentacles
rush (V) – move quickly or move toward something quickly
soundly (Adv) — deeply
used (to) – is a verb that is followed by a specified preposition "to". That is, it requires one preposition in particular. See Verbs with specified prepositions.
waves (N) – rolling action of water onto the beach; also used for the shape of sound signals and the shape of semi-curly hair.
Would vs. Used
Differences Between Would and Used
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WOULD |
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Would expresses that an activity was frequently repeated; therefore, it cannot refer to past states. |
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NOT USED FOR PAST STATES OF POSSESSION, MIND, OR BEING |
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USED FOR TIME-RELATED ACTIVITY |
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She would bite her fingernails whenever she was nervous. |
| She would bite her fingernails / smoke / take drugs. (repeatedly) |
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USED TO |
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Used to can refer to past states: existence, possession, having a particular characteristic, state of mind, and major, unbreakable habits (usually bad) etc. |
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USED FOR PAST STATES OF POSSESSION, MIND, OR BEING |
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She used to have an amazing tan. (characteristic) |
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She used to think she was very cool. (state of mind) |
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She used to be the most popular girl on the beach. (existence) |
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She used to bite her fingernails / smoke / take drugs. (major habit, doesn't do it now, earlier stage of life) |
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USED FOR TIME-RELATED ACTIVITY |
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She used to have an amazing tan by the time summer ended. |
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She used to think she was very cool whether or not anyone else did. |
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She used to be the most popular girl on the beach when she wore her bikini. |
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She used to bite her fingernails whenever she was nervous. |
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
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*In the past, people used to call a person on his or her birthday. |
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*Last year, I used to study very hard. (the adverb is awkward) |
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*I used to live in San Diego for five years. (including an adverb is awkward) |
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*I used to go to the gym several times. (including an adverb is awkward) |
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*Did you used to live in Los Angeles? (word form error with past auxiliary) |
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In the past, people would call a person on his/ her/ their birthday. |
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I used to study very hard. (Remove the adverb.) Last year, I studied very hard. (Change the verb to past tense when using an adverb for time.) When I was in college, I used to study very hard. (Use a time-relative clause to refer to an earlier stage of life) |
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I lived in San Diego for five years. (Use past tense with a quantity of time. Note the focus is on timing here.) I used to live in San Diego. (Used to is not used with a quantity of time.) |
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I went to the gym several times. (Use past tense.) |
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Did you use to live in Los Angeles? (Remove the final -d when using did.) |
Related page: Used to vs. Be used to
Related page Static Verbs. Also so time-relative clauses After/ Before/ When
Grammar Quizzes by Julie Sevastopoulos is licensed for use under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International.