Definition / Explanation
English has several ways to talk about repeated actions or states in the past. Used to is common for past habits and past states that are no longer true now. Would can describe repeated past actions, especially in stories, but it does not normally describe past states. The past simple can also express past habits when the context makes repetition clear. Choosing the right form helps show whether you mean an old routine, an old state, or just a series of past events.
Key Rules
- Use used to + base verb for past habits and past states: I used to live in Leeds.
- Use would + base verb for repeated past actions, especially in stories: Every summer we would camp by the lake.
- Do not use would for past states such as be, have, know, or live in the general sense.
- The past simple can also show past habit: When I was a child, I played outside every day.
- Used to often suggests contrast with now.
Examples
- I used to play chess after school.
- On Sundays we would visit Grandma.
- She used to have long hair.
- When we were children, we played in the street every evening.
- My father used to work nights.
Common Mistakes
- ❌ I would live in Rome when I was a child. -> ✅ I used to live in Rome when I was a child.
- ❌ She used to went there every day. -> ✅ She used to go there every day.
- ❌ We would be very shy at school. -> ✅ We used to be very shy at school.