Past habits: 'used to', 'would' and the past simple
Look at these examples to see how used to, would and the past simple are used.
They used to live in London.
I didn't use to like olives.
We would always go to the seaside for our holidays.
But one holiday we went to the mountains instead.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Grammar explanation
When we talk about things in the past that are not true any more, we can do it in different ways.
Used to + infinitive
We can use used to to talk about past states that are not true any more.
We used to live in New York when I was a kid.
There didn't use to be a supermarket there. When did it open?
Did you use to have a garden?
We can also use used to to talk about past habits (repeated past actions) that don't happen any more.
I used to go swimming every Thursday when I was at school.
She used to smoke but she gave up a few years ago.
used to + infinitive should not be confused with be/get used to + -ing, which has a different meaning. The difference is covered here.
Would
We can use would to talk about repeated past actions that don't happen any more.
Every Saturday I would go on a long bike ride.
My dad would read me amazing stories every night at bedtime.
would for past habits is slightly more formal than used to. It is often used in stories. We don't normally use the negative or question form of would for past habits. Note that we can't usually use would to talk about past states.
Past simple
We can always use the past simple as an alternative to used to or would to talk about past states or habits. The main difference is that the past simple doesn't emphasise the repeated or continuous nature of the action or situation. Also, the past simple doesn't make it so clear that the thing is no longer true.
We went to the same beach every summer.
We used to go to the same beach every summer.
We would go to the same beach every summer.
If something happened only once, we must use the past simple.
I went to Egypt in 2014.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hi! As I see, we can use "used to" instead of "would" most of the cases but we can only use "used to" in some specific cases. I wonder if we have any cases that we can only use "would", not "used to"?
Hello ANEWT,
Would has various uses but if we're talking about past habits as described on this page then I don't think there are any instances where you can use would and can't use used to.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Dear teacher, I have some questions about used to.
☘️I walked to school, but now I don’t.
=> I used to walk to school, but now I don’t.
Do we need to write down the phrase “but now I don’t” in “used to” structure?
☘️ I played badminton when I was young.
(Using Used to)
=> I used to play badminton when I was young.
Do we keep the phrase “when I was young?”
Thank Teacher.
Hello KatherineThu,
The form 'used to' already tells us that this is a past habit. Unless there is some other indication then it is a past habit which is no longer true, so the 'but now I don't' part is not necessary.
Similarly, the phrase 'when I was younger' is not necessary but in this case it does add more detail to the sentence as it suggests some time period - not just last year, for example, but some time ago. Therefore although it is not necessary grammatically, removing it changes the meaning of the sentence somewhat.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
1-Before the climate changed, several species of birds 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 in the outskirts of our rural village.
--> That means, there aren't many birds here anymore.
2-Twenty years ago, there 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝚋𝚎 a paved road leading to the bus station.
-->That means, now there is a paved road leading to the bus station.
3- I 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝘣𝘦 passionate about skating, and sometimes I 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 early with my friends and 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 the frozen mountain lake, but I’m not into it anymore.
4-When I 𝘄𝗮𝘀 about ten years old, I 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘣𝘦 fond of climbing mountains to look for bird nests. Of course, I 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 late every day. Then, one time, I 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗹 from a great height but 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 to grab onto a wild branch.
5-Once, I 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 a huge rock wobble and then roll down the slope from the summit.
6-Before he 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁, the little cat 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 wake up before us and 𝘀𝗶𝘁 under the table, waiting for pieces of cheese.
7-When I was in the city, I 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 by the pancake seller every morning.
Do the situations always automatically reverse if we use 'used to'?
Like if I say: 'I used to love football.' (Does this have to mean that I don't love it anymore?)
or 'I didn't use to have a dog.' (Does this have to mean that I have a dog now?)
I saw a dialogue where a grandson asked his grandpa that 'Did you use to have a servant?', and his grandpa replied 'No, I didn't. I used to help with the chores.' (Wouldn't this mean 'I have a servant now.'?) because the situation him not having a servant is no longer true anymore.
Hello henrypham02,
As you say, used to describes situations which were habitual or stable (actions or states) and which are no longer true. When the grandson asks about the servant he is asking about a potential stable past situation which would (if true) be something no longer true today, so the choice of used to is appropriate. The grandfather's reply uses the same form as it is a direct response to the question, not as a way to suggesting that he has a servant now.
In the other situation, where the speakers choose used to without any prompt question, the implication is that the situation has changed. Unless the sentence is followed by something like 'In fact, I've never loved football / never had a dog' the listener would most likely understand that the situation has changed as you say. However, all of this is very much context dependent.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts about the question below:
My brother ___ the names of all the different types of fish that were in the river.
would know
used to know
I've looked at it a number of times and feel that both answers could be correct but they would result in a different meaning to the sentence. If we use 'would know' then it implies that my brother was able to name all of the types of fish in the river on our multiple trips to the river. If it is 'used to know' then the sentence means that he knew the names of the fish at that time but now he doesn't know them.
Could you please clarify my understanding?
Many thanks!
Hello aldiverman,
We can use used to with both past habitual actions and states. We can use would for past habitual actions but not states. Since know is treated as a state you can only use used to here.
You can read more about verbs like this here:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/stative-verbs
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello,
In this test, why is "would like" incorrect? Can you give a compherensive explanation?
During that time, I ___ to spend at least two hours in the gym every day.
would like
used to like