Used to and would can describe past actions, habits and states and are often used together when describing past events, often about childhood experiences. They naturally go with the past simple tense.
The chart below outlines some key features of how to use these forms with examples.
Used to – Important Notes
- The form changes for questions and negatives.
| Positive | Subject + used to + verb – I used to live in Dublin. |
| Negative | Subject + didn’t + use to + verb – I didn’t use to go jogging. |
| Question | Did + subject + use to + verb – Did you use to work here? |
Note how there is no ‘d’ in both negatives and questions, used to becomes use to.
This cannot be heard when speaking because the ‘d’ is not pronounced in positive sentences. Also, unlike the verb ‘use’, the s is soft, so /s/ instead of /z/.
- We use ‘used to’ for past actions which were repeated.
This is often used with the word ‘every’. For example:
- We used to go to ballet classes every Saturday.
- I used to go to the cinema on my birthday every year.
- Do not confuse ‘used to’, with (be) used to and (get) used to
These have very different meanings and they are more difficult due to how (be) and (get) change in the different tenses.
These structures are explained in the b2/ c1 section of this website.
Would – Important Notes
- Most importantly, we cannot use would with stative verbs.
Instead of using would with stative verbs, we must use ‘used to’ or the Past Simple tense instead. For example:
I would have long hair when I was a teenager. ⮽- I had/ I used to have long hair when I was a teenager. ✅
- We must make the time period clear when using would, or it sounds like we are talking about the future.
- I would make my own jewellery when I was young.
- When I moved to Dublin I would go to concerts at the weekend.
- Would is often combined with used to avoid repetition and usually comes after ‘used to’ has been used. It is also used in combination with Past Simple for stories.
“I used to live with my brother when I was at college. We didn’t hang out much but we would sometimes play soccer together and he would sometimes let me join him and his friends on a night out.”