Past forms: “Would” & “used to”

- Hi, there!

I'm your English coach Christina

and welcome to Speak English With Christina

where you'll learn about American culture

and business know-how to become confident in English.

In American English there are a few different ways

that we can talk about things that we did in the past

that don't happen anymore.

You may already be familiar with the past simple,

for example if the action happened just once

you could say, "I went to the library yesterday,"

or "I visited the company headquarters last week,"

but how can you express repeated actions in the past

that you did again and again?

It's quite simple and it's our topic for this episode.

Let's go.

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(upbeat music)

Let me tell you a story about me and my sister, Lisa.

If you're a student in

the Understand Real American English online course,

you met Lisa in lesson one.

Well, when we were kids, we would fight all the time.

Like, we would run around the house.

We would pull each other's hair,

and we would call each other stupid names,

and it would drive my mom and dad crazy.

Even when we went to the same school years later,

we would make fun of each other all the time.

But now, we're more mature and we actually like each other.

I guess that's just how siblings are.

And, all of that, that's a true story.

Did you notice a key word in my story?

That word is would

and one of the most common ways

to talk about something that you did repeatedly

in the past is to use would.

(upbeat music)

We often use would when we're describing our childhood.

For example.

When I was young, I would draw every afternoon after school.

Or, when I was a kid, I would ride my bike everywhere.

Of course, you can use would for other repeated actions

that happened at any age, not just when you were a kid.

For example.

On our vacation last year,

we would go for long swims in the lake all day long.

Or, before picking up my kids from school,

I would go and have a coffee at the cafe

to relax a little bit.

Or, when I first started my job,

I would write the day's goals down

before I started work every day.

Or another example.

When I was a sales rep, I would make sure

that I always listened carefully

to what my customers wanted.

Do you see how in each of those examples

the word would is used to describe a repeated action

or habit that happened in the past?

Now, what if you want to talk about

a past state or situation?

(upbeat music)

We use used to when describing past states or situations.

For example, I used to be a lawyer.

This describes a past situation

that lasted for a period of time.

If I said would instead of used to in this example,

that's incorrect.

Like, before I became a judge, I would be a lawyer.

No, that just doesn't make sense.

You would say I used to be a lawyer.

So, we use used to to talk about past situations

that are no longer true today.

Often jobs that we did in the past,

or places where we lived in the past,

like I used to work in a school

and I used to live in the US,

and here are some other examples of used to

to describe past situations

that lasted for a period of time

but are no longer true today.

I used to work in the mail department,

but I was promoted.

Our company headquarters used to be in the United States,

but then they moved to Canada.

And I used to have trouble understanding American English.

You'll be able to say that one after

you take one of my courses.

You can also use used to to describe a repeated action

or recurrent habit in the past,

similar to would, and here's some examples

where you can use both.

I used to ride my bike to work,

but then I got an apartment right near the office.

Or I would ride my bike to work every day,

so I was really in shape then.

Another example.

We used to have meetings every Tuesday morning,

but we stopped that.

Another one.

We would have meetings every Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m.

It was awful.

(upbeat music)

So you can see that they're actually quite similar,

would and used to,

so if you're hesitating, you know,

which one should I use,

just go with used to simply because it's more versatile.

You can use it in both situations

to talk about repeated actions,

but also to talk about past situations

that are on longer true today.

Often, would is used more like

to paint, you know, the backdrop to the story.

To give some context.

Sometimes we often use it

when we're a little nostalgic,

like, when I was a kid I would have

so much time to do my favorite activities

and now I just have to work

and take care of things.

So, but if you're in doubt go with used to.

You can use it for both situations.

(upbeat music)

So, I told you some stories about things

that my sister and I would do when we were kids.

Now, what about you?

Do you have any stories

that you would like to share

about your past experiences, habits,

or maybe the places that you used to live in.

Did your siblings ever pull your hair

like my sister and I did?

Hopefully not, but you never know.

So share your past habits, experiences,

and the places that you've lived in the comments below

using would or used to.

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