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
Hello lenniva,
Both 'would' and 'used to' can describe past habitual actions, but only 'used to' can describe a past state.
Your first sentence describes a state: the state of being employed by a science magazine, not the action of writing an article. Work for here means 'be employed by', not 'do a job for'.
Your second sentence could be correct, depending on whether you are thinking of the act of eating or the state of being or not being a vegetarian. It's really a question of context, but the safest choice is 'used to' as it can be used in both contexts.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Rob,
Thanks for the interesting question.
I don't think would is used here because the action is repeated. For example, you could say this:
I think the correct answer is that in certain contexts we see feelings as processes rather than fixed states. It's similar to the use of progressive aspect with feelings in sentences like 'I was getting angry' or 'I was becoming frustrated'.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Danodo,
We use would to describe typical behaviour in the past which is no longer true. It has a similar to used to, but can be used for actions and not states (used to can be used for either).
The past continuous can describe repeated actions, especially ones which are excessive or irritating in some way. The past simple can also describe repeated events if used with an adverb like always, but does not suggest excess or irritation.
I would explain your examples as follows:
A repeated action in the past which the speaker might consider a little excessive or extreme.
A repeated action in the past.
Habitual or repeated action which is no longer true.
A single action in the past.
The differences here are not stark, other than the final example which is about a single event. The speaker has choices in terms of how they wish to present the action and what they choose to emphasise.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Rolpanizum123,
I'm afraid that use of would does not look correct to me as an answer to the police officer's question. An answer in the past simple would be appropriate, I expect:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team