English – Used to / Would: Past Habits and States – BAC Literary Stream

English – Used to / Would: Past Habits and States – BAC Literary Stream

‘Used to’ and ‘would’ are both used to talk about past habits and repeated actions. However, they are used differently. Mastering this distinction is important for the BAC exam.

Used to:

Used to talk about past habits (things that happened regularly in the past but don’t happen now) and past states (situations that were true in the past but are not true now).

• Habit: “I used to play football every weekend.” (I don’t play anymore)
• State: “She used to live in Oran.” (she lives somewhere else now)
• Negative: “I didn’t use to like coffee.” / “I never used to smoke.”
• Question: “Did you use to play with dolls when you were young?”

Would:

Used to talk about past repeated actions and habits, but NOT past states. ‘Would’ is more common in written and literary English.

• Action: “Every summer, we would visit our grandparents in the village.”
• Habit: “Whenever he was angry, he would slam the door.”
• NOT with states: “I would live in Algiers.” (WRONG) → “I used to live in Algiers.”

Difference between Used to and Would:

• Used to can be used for both actions AND states.
• Would can ONLY be used for repeated actions, NOT states.
• Would often needs a time reference or context (when, whenever, every time, etc.).
• Both can be used for repeated actions, but ‘would’ sounds more literary.

Past Simple vs Used to:

• Past Simple: Single past action or state. “I lived in London for five years.” (a complete period)
• Used to: Past states or habits that have changed. “I used to live in London.” (but I don’t now)
• Used to cannot be used for single past events with a specific time: “I went to Paris last year.” (NOT “I used to go to Paris last year”)

Be used to vs Get used to:

• Be used to + noun/gerund: Be accustomed to. “I am used to getting up early.” (I’m accustomed to it)
• Get used to + noun/gerund: Become accustomed to. “She is getting used to her new school.”

BAC Exercise:

Fill in the blanks with used to, would, or the past simple:
1. I ___ (smoke) but I quit last year.
2. When I was a child, I ___ (spend) hours reading comics.
3. She ___ (be) very shy, but now she is outgoing.
4. Every time we visited, my grandmother ___ (bake) us a cake.
5. They ___ (not have) a car when they lived in the countryside.

Answers: 1. used to smoke, 2. would spend/used to spend, 3. used to be, 4. would bake/used to bake, 5. didn’t use to have

Similar Lessons

• English – Past Tenses: Simple Past, Past Continuous, Past Perfect
• English – The Simple Present and Present Continuous

📍 دروس مشابهة

• English – Expressing Cause and Result: So, Such, Too, Enough – BAC
• English – Prepositions of Time, Place, and Movement – BAC
• English Grammar and Writing — Causative Verbs: Have, Get, Let, Make — BAC Practice Part 14 — 3rd Year Secondary — Literary Stream