Would / Used to

Would/ Used to

Structures:

Note: for both stative and action verbs can be applied for – used to whereas only action verbs can be applied for – would.

A. Used to:

It is used to express past habit or past state that no longer happens now)

B. Would:

Would describes repeated actions or habits in the past.

Time expressions (every day, often, in those days)

C. Main difference:

For ‘would’ past time (context) must be framed before we use it whereas used to doesn’t require it

We use action verb with would whereas used to can take both stative and action verbs.

For the contrast in the present we had better apply ‘used to’ instead of ‘would’

1. Make sentences from the table below using used to/ didn’t use to as shown in the example.

Example: she used to travel a lot but now she rarely leaves her town.

Exercise:

Complete the sentences with used to or

1. My sister ________ have short hair when she was young.
2. We __________ have lunch in the same school café when I was in middle school.
3. My father __________ play badminton before he had backbone problem.
4. When I was very young, I __________ (not) like milk.
5. She__________call me after class for a chat.
6. My mother __________ (not) wear glasses when she was at the university.
7. When I was a child, we __________live in a village.
8. On Sundays, My mother __________wake up and go to the temple.
9. How many friends __________have in class ten?
10. My father __________always read me bedtime stories before bed.
11. When I lived in Pokhara, I __________ walk along the lakeside every evening.
12. My grandfather __________ tell us folk tales during winter nights.
13. There __________ be a small tea shop at the corner of our street.
14. I __________ feel nervous before speaking English in class.
15. During power cuts, we __________ study by candlelight.
16. She __________ cry easily when she was a child.
17. My friends and I __________play marbles after school.
18. He __________ be very shy, but now he is confident.
19. On rainy days, my mother __________ make hot tea for everyone.
20. I __________ hate mathematics, but now I enjoy it.
21. In primary school, our teacher __________give us extra homework on Fridays.
22. There __________be a playground behind our old house.
23. My uncle __________ smoke a lot before he quit.
24. As children, we __________fight over small things.
25. Every Dashain, my family __________ visit our village.
26. She __________ wear long dresses when she was younger.
27. We __________ listen to the radio because we didn’t have a TV.
28. He __________ forget his homework almost every day.
29. I __________ think English grammar was very difficult.
30. At school, the bell __________ ring exactly at ten o’clock.