How to Talk about the Past with "Used To" and "Would"

So let me clear something up.

Yes, you can use, used to, and would,

to talk about the past.

And in this English lesson, I'll show you how,

and I'll make sure I give you some examples.

(bright music)

Let's start by talking about, used to.

You can use, used to,

to talk about repeated actions in the past,

that are no longer happening,

or to talk about a state in the past that is no longer true.

And the cool thing is,

is you use used to and you just use the verb,

you don't even need to conjugate it.

Here are some examples:

I used to be younger.

I'm obviously older now, but I used to be younger.

So that's a state in the past, that is no longer true.

I am no longer younger.

I'm definitely older.

I could also say I used to ride my bike.

This is an action in the past,

that obviously happened more than once,

but no longer happens now.

Now I usually just walk.

But when I was younger, I used to ride my bike.

So you can use used to with a verb,

to talk about actions in the past,

that were repeated, that no longer happened,

or to talk about a state in the past,

that is no longer true.

Let's talk a little bit about using, would,

to talk about the past.

You can use, would

to talk about a repeated action in the past,

that is no longer happening.

I could say, "I would eat cereal for breakfast."

But when I say that it doesn't quite make sense,

because I haven't given it context.

It's important, when using, would,

to talk about a repeated action in the past,

that you give context.

A better sentence (bell ringing) would be this:

When I was a kid, I would eat cereal for breakfast.

That's a great sentence.

You know, because of how I introduced it,

that I'm talking about something that happened in the past.

By the way, you can also use, used to, in the same example.

Used to, can be used to talk about a repeated action

in the past, that's no longer happening.

So I could say this:

"When I was a kid, I used to eat cereal for breakfast."

So when you're using would,

make sure you give the person you're talking to, a clue.

Make sure they're aware that you're talking about the past.

You can say something like,

"When I was a kid,"

or, "When I was a lot younger,"

and then you can use would

to talk about a repeated action in the past,

that's no longer happening.

So let's look at an example.

I used to be strong.

I used to climb that tree.

When I was younger, I would climb that tree.

So I've used, used to, to describe a state.

I used to be strong.

In the past, there was a time where I was strong.

I'm no longer as strong.

I'm still a little bit strong.

I can also use, used to,

to describe a repeated action in the past.

I used to climb that tree.

This means I've climbed it multiple times in the past,

but I no longer climb it.

And if I talk about this using would,

and I want to talk about the past,

I would have to give you a hint.

When I was younger, I would climb this tree.

If I don't give you the hint,

the sentence doesn't quite make sense.

So I used to be strong.

I used to climb that tree.

When I was younger, I would climb that tree.

Let's look at another example.

My mom used to be a farmer.

My mom used to milk cows twice a day.

When my mom was a farmer, she would milk cows twice a day.

So in the first sentence, I'm describing a state.

My mom used to be a farmer.

She is no longer a farmer.

She is retired.

In the second sentence,

I'm describing a repeated action in the past,

that no longer happens.

My mom used to milk cows twice a day.

She doesn't do that anymore,

because there's no cows in the barn.

The barn is actually empty.

So it just has flowers in it during the summer.

And if I wanted to use, would

to describe a repeated action in the past, I would say,

"When my mom was a farmer,

"she would milk cows twice a day."

I have to introduce the sentence (bell ringing)

with, "When my mom was a farmer,"

so that you have a hint,

so that you know I'm talking about the past.

So I'm not sure if you could see the road behind me.

But that's where I walk.

When I go for a walk, I walk along the road.

I used to be in better shape.

I used to walk every day.

In the summer, I would walk every day.

Right now, I don't walk every day.

So I used to be in better shape.

I am describing a state, a state of being healthier.

I used to be in better shape.

I'm also saying,

"I used to walk every day,"

meaning that there is an action in the past,

that was repeated.

I used to walk every day.

And if I talk about it using, would,

to talk about the past,

I need to give you a hint.

So then I would say,

"In the summer, I would walk every day."

So another example for you,

I used to be in better shape.

I'm in pretty good shape still.

I used to walk every day,

or, in the summer, I would walk every day.

Well, thank you so much

for watching this little English lesson

about how to use, used to, and, would,

to talk about the past.

I hope it helped you.

I hope you understood the explanation.

and I hope the examples were very, very useful,

and will help you form your own sentences

when you do this yourself.

Thanks again for watching.

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