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Exercise 1 - used to and would

Choose the correct answer.
I didntlive in this city.
We often go on holiday.
When I was a child, we have a
dog.
She workas a teacher for
many years.
As a student, he never ..have any
money.
Did you .like playing football at
school?
There never bea coffee shop
here.
My dadalways read to me before
bed.

BASIC RULES OF USED TO AND WOULD :

USED TO and WOULD
1. Both used to and would can be used to
describe repeated actions in the past. They can be
used interchangeably:
I used to go fishing with my father when I was
young.
I used to have 2 dogs. Every time the mailman
came, they would bark.
My grandfather would always read to me after
dinner.
Students would get angry whenever the teachers
gave them a pop quiz.

2. Be careful! We use the simple past to talk about

SINGLE specific actions in the past as those that
refer to historical events:

On September 11, 2001, hijackers bombed the

World Trade Center.
3. Used to can also be used to describe past states
(usually in contrast of present states), with verbs
such as be, have and live. For example:
I used to live in California. (But now I live in
France.)
He used to have long hair. (Now he has really short
hair.)
This building used to be a hotel. (Now its an
apartment complex.)
4. Would cannot normally be used in such
sentences, unless the state is repeated and qualified
by an adverb such as often. For example:
In the 20th century, women would often have
more than 2 children.
This suggests that the state was repeated several
times over a period of years, but it is a highly
restricted use of would.

BE CAREFUL! We often used would in the

contracted form: Every time I went to the beach, Id
take along my radio. Id listen to the radio while
sunbathing on the beach.
5. If you refer to a specific period in the past, use
the simple past: Used to cannot be used to refer
to specific restricted periods in the past. For
example:
In September 2001 I went to China.

DO NOT CONFUSE USED TO AND WOULD

which are past modals with the expression to be
used to something/doing something and to
get used to something/doing something
I am used to speaking British English but now Im
getting used to the American accent.
In conclusion used to is used for past states and
sometimes repeated actions or habits in the past
and would is restricted to repeated actions in the

past very often punctuated with frequency adverbs

(often, always, every time, etc.).