When to Use “Used to” and “Would”

As an English teacher, I often meet students who believe that they do not need to study grammar. Native speakers do not necessarily need to know all the grammatical rules of their own language because they learnt it naturally when they were very young. However, when it comes to learning a foreign language, a sound knowledge of grammar—the rules and systems that hold the language together—is extremely helpful. Not only will grammar help you form natural-sounding sentences, but it will also give you greater confidence—one of the keys to fluency. Many English learners have been studying the language for quite some time but are still unsure when to use used to and would. I sincerely hope that this blog post will clear things up once and for all.

We use both expressions to talk about habits and repeated actions in the past, especially things that no longer happen.

For example:

• When I was a toddler, I used to sleep after lunch. I do not do it anymore.
• When I was a toddler, I would sleep after lunch. I do not do it anymore.

As you can see, both forms can express a past habit. Is there a difference between them? Let’s find out.

USED TO

The phrase used to expresses past habits, regularly repeated actions and past states.

For example:

• Sara used to travel a lot. Now she hardly ever leaves her neighbourhood. (past habit)
• When I was younger, I used to visit the dentist every three months. (regularly repeated action)
• We used to have a dog. Now we have a cat. (past state)

Negative sentences with used to

To make a negative sentence, use didn’t use to.

• Brian didn’t use to listen to music much before he started dating a singer in a band.
• I didn’t use to like cooking when I was younger.
• Sean never used to drink much coffee.
• I never used to be the best student, but I used to do my homework regularly.

Questions with used to

To make a question, use Did + subject + use to…?

For example:

• Did you use to read a lot when you were a student?
• Did your children use to believe in the Tooth Fairy and Father Christmas?
• How early did you use to get up in your previous job?
• Which sport did you use to play when you were younger?

WOULD

We can use would in a similar way to used to when we talk about regularly repeated actions in the past. However, we do not normally use it with stative verbs when they describe past states.

Follow the link to learn more about stative and action verbs.

For example:

• We would play tennis every Sunday when we lived abroad.
• I would sleep until noon on Saturdays when I was younger.
• Simon would play basketball every day when he was a teenager.

Notice that each sentence establishes a past time period:

• when we lived abroad
• when I was younger
• when he was a teenager

Unlike used to, would usually needs a clear past context.

Do not normally use would for past states

We usually use used to, not would, with verbs that describe states such as be, have, know, believe, like and love.

Incorrect:

• My parents would be very kind and polite.
• Tara would have a big car.
• My family would believe in me when I was a student.

Correct:

• My parents used to be very kind and polite.
• Tara used to have a big car.
• My family used to believe in me when I was a student.

Would in stories and memories

We often use would when telling stories or recalling repeated experiences from the past. It is especially common in nostalgic descriptions.

For example:

When I was very young, I would visit my grandparents every summer. My grandma would make pancakes for breakfast, and we would eat together. She would tell me stories about my father when he was my age. Afterwards, we would sit in the garden or go swimming in the nearby river. Sometimes, I miss those days—and my grandparents—a great deal.

In this paragraph, would helps us describe a series of actions that happened regularly during those summer visits.

Negative sentences with would

We form negative sentences by adding not to would:

would not → wouldn’t

However, wouldn’t often suggests refusal or unwillingness rather than simply the absence of a past habit.

For example:

• I wouldn’t eat bacon when I was a child, no matter how much my parents encouraged me.
• They wouldn’t start revising until the exam was very close.

In these examples, wouldn’t means that the person repeatedly refused or was unwilling to do something.

When you simply want to say that something was not a past habit, didn’t use to is often clearer:

• I didn’t use to eat bacon when I was a child.
• They didn’t use to revise until the last minute.

Questions with would

To form a question, put would before the subject. Make sure that the past time period is clear.

For example:

• When you were at secondary school, would you stay up all night before an exam?
• When you were a student, how hard would you study for your exams?
• During the summer holidays, would your family go away together?

Without a clear past context, questions with would may sound as though they refer to an imaginary situation rather than a past habit.

Conclusion

To sum up, we use used to for habitual or repeated actions and states in the past. We use would for regularly repeated past actions, but not normally for past states.

For example:

Peter used to go fishing. He would get up early, at around four o’clock, pack his fishing equipment and stay by the river until he had caught plenty of fish.

In this example, used to introduces Peter’s past habit. After the past situation has been established, would describes the actions he regularly performed.

Compare:

• Our teacher used to be a young, intelligent woman.
  Not: Our teacher would be a young, intelligent woman.
• Whenever the famous swimmer competed, there would be hundreds of spectators around the pool.

In the second sentence, would is possible because it describes a situation that happened repeatedly whenever the swimmer competed.

Remember that we can use used to without establishing the exact past time period, but would normally needs a clear past context.

For example:

• Bob used to drink a lot.
  (We do not know exactly when.)
• Before he got married, Bob would drink a lot.
  (The past time period has been established.)

The sentence Bob would drink a lot is unclear on its own because would has several possible meanings.

Finally, the main difference between used to and would is not formality. Used to works with both past actions and past states, while would is mainly used for repeated past actions within an established past situation or story.

Download Used to and Would Practice Worksheet in PDF here

Quiz

Related posts:

• How to Use WOULD in English
•  Stative and Action Verbs 
• How to Use Would Rather 
• Second Conditional
• Third Conditional 
• Reported Speech 

Looking for more reading practice? Explore the Step into English Complete Collection, with 90 stories from A2 to C1.