Used to and Would

Both would and used to can refer to repeated actions and events in the past, but only used to can refer to past states. Compare:

- When we were children we would/ used to go skating every Winter.- I used to have an old Rolls-Royce. But not I would have an old Rolls-Royce.

Used to

Taken from: Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002.

Taken from: L.G.Alexander, Longman English Grammar, Longman, Essex, 1998.

Exercises.

I. Fill in the blanks with used to or would in the sentences below.

1. On Sundays, after his football match, Bob ……………. often come home exhausted.2. You ………….. like him... Yes, but now I hate him ! 3. She …………… live in London before the war, then she moved to New York.

4. I remember we …………. go fishing every morning when I was a child. It was great. Now, I am an accountant and I don’t have any free time.

5. The children ……………….often help me to make a cake. They still do sometimes.

6. He …………… be a very good tennis player, until he broke his ankle.

7. My grandfather ……………. swim in this river. Unfortunately, now it’s forbidden. 8. John Mac Enroe ………………. be one of the best tennis players in the world.

9. Jim ………………….. have so much fun with his friends but they gradually moved away and they lost touch.

10. She loved jumble sales and she ……………………travel miles to go to one.

11. He …………………… never sack people himself, he always got someone else to do it for him.

12. He …………………… think watching soccer on T.V was rather boring but he quite enjoys it now.

13. At night, she …………………… sometimes go to the hotel bar and chat with other customers.

14. Whenever Dennis saved some money, he …………………… buy some new C.D.'s.

15. There ……………………… be a bank in the street.

used to She * live in Lond

used to I remember w e *

w ould The children * oft

used to He * be a very go

used to John Mac Enroe *

used to Jim * have so muc

w ould She loved jumble

w ould He * never sack p

used to He * think w atchin

w ould At night, she * so

w ould Whenever Dennis

used to There * be a bank Would / Used to 1

8572 54 733 3313 2872 1600

8572 15.1 1367715525 Yes !!!!! christophe76 061

II. Complete the following text with the correct form of the verb in brackets using would or used to. Sometimes both are posible.

In the 1950s, women ..............................1(wash) dishes in the kitchen sink. A woman .........................2 (wash) the dishes immediately after everyone finished a meal. Her husband ...............................3(rarely–wash) dishes because it was not considered to be his job. A wife ........................4(often–dry) the dishes by hand.  She did the dishes three times a day. I remember that my mother .........................5(have) a special towel just for dishes not for hands.

She .........................6(get) angry if we dried our hands with it. She ..................................7(be) a very strict mother. Did your mother ............................8(have) the same rule? She would use a separate towel for dishes, ..............................9(use) she? My grandmother did the dishes for thirty years.  Then she bought a dishwasher. Last year, she used a dishwasher for the first time and will never go back to hand-washing the dishes!

tle #used to#used to 1 129437.2 8

lala53 |Used to¤17482¤ __ <A HREF=/cgi2/m 0

0 0001

are used Some people thin Would/used to 3

18962 1253 7377 4485 3670 2177

18962 11.7 1366404564 WOAW... Not tha omaya 061

tle #w ould|use to|us 1 221855.4 12

felin |Used to¤17482¤ __ <A HREF=/cgi2/m 0

0 0001

used to My grandfather * Used to/w ould 3

64591 664 16267 24352 12208 11100

64591 13.4 1370866654 I used to make a m maud11 061

tle #w ould|used to#u 1 865519.4 7

w oodyrun |Habits and used __ <A HREF=/cgi2/m 0

0 0001