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

77,587 views ・ 2022-11-15

Learn English with Bob the Canadian


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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So let me clear something up.
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Yes, you can use, used to, and would,
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to talk about the past.
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And in this English lesson, I'll show you how,
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and I'll make sure I give you some examples.
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(bright music)
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Let's start by talking about, used to.
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You can use, used to,
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to talk about repeated actions in the past,
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that are no longer happening,
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or to talk about a state in the past that is no longer true.
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And the cool thing is,
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is you use used to and you just use the verb,
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you don't even need to conjugate it.
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Here are some examples:
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I used to be younger.
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I'm obviously older now, but I used to be younger.
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So that's a state in the past, that is no longer true.
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I am no longer younger.
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I'm definitely older.
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I could also say I used to ride my bike.
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This is an action in the past,
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that obviously happened more than once,
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but no longer happens now.
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Now I usually just walk.
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But when I was younger, I used to ride my bike.
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So you can use used to with a verb,
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to talk about actions in the past,
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that were repeated, that no longer happened,
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or to talk about a state in the past,
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that is no longer true.
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Let's talk a little bit about using, would,
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to talk about the past.
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You can use, would
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to talk about a repeated action in the past,
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that is no longer happening.
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I could say, "I would eat cereal for breakfast."
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But when I say that it doesn't quite make sense,
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because I haven't given it context.
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It's important, when using, would,
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to talk about a repeated action in the past,
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that you give context.
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A better sentence (bell ringing) would be this:
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When I was a kid, I would eat cereal for breakfast.
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That's a great sentence.
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You know, because of how I introduced it,
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that I'm talking about something that happened in the past.
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By the way, you can also use, used to, in the same example.
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Used to, can be used to talk about a repeated action
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in the past, that's no longer happening.
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So I could say this:
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"When I was a kid, I used to eat cereal for breakfast."
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So when you're using would,
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make sure you give the person you're talking to, a clue.
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Make sure they're aware that you're talking about the past.
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You can say something like,
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"When I was a kid,"
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or, "When I was a lot younger,"
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and then you can use would
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to talk about a repeated action in the past,
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that's no longer happening.
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So let's look at an example.
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I used to be strong.
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I used to climb that tree.
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When I was younger, I would climb that tree.
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So I've used, used to, to describe a state.
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I used to be strong.
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In the past, there was a time where I was strong.
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I'm no longer as strong.
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I'm still a little bit strong.
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I can also use, used to,
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to describe a repeated action in the past.
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I used to climb that tree.
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This means I've climbed it multiple times in the past,
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but I no longer climb it.
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And if I talk about this using would,
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and I want to talk about the past,
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I would have to give you a hint.
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When I was younger, I would climb this tree.
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If I don't give you the hint,
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the sentence doesn't quite make sense.
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So I used to be strong.
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I used to climb that tree.
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When I was younger, I would climb that tree.
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Let's look at another example.
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My mom used to be a farmer.
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My mom used to milk cows twice a day.
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When my mom was a farmer, she would milk cows twice a day.
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So in the first sentence, I'm describing a state.
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My mom used to be a farmer.
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She is no longer a farmer.
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She is retired.
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In the second sentence,
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I'm describing a repeated action in the past,
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that no longer happens.
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My mom used to milk cows twice a day.
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She doesn't do that anymore,
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because there's no cows in the barn.
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The barn is actually empty.
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So it just has flowers in it during the summer.
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And if I wanted to use, would
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to describe a repeated action in the past, I would say,
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"When my mom was a farmer,
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"she would milk cows twice a day."
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I have to introduce the sentence (bell ringing)
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with, "When my mom was a farmer,"
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so that you have a hint,
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so that you know I'm talking about the past.
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So I'm not sure if you could see the road behind me.
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But that's where I walk.
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When I go for a walk, I walk along the road.
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I used to be in better shape.
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I used to walk every day.
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In the summer, I would walk every day.
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Right now, I don't walk every day.
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So I used to be in better shape.
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I am describing a state, a state of being healthier.
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I used to be in better shape.
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I'm also saying,
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"I used to walk every day,"
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meaning that there is an action in the past,
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that was repeated.
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I used to walk every day.
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And if I talk about it using, would,
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to talk about the past,
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I need to give you a hint.
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So then I would say,
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"In the summer, I would walk every day."
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So another example for you,
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I used to be in better shape.
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I'm in pretty good shape still.
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I used to walk every day,
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or, in the summer, I would walk every day.
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Well, thank you so much
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for watching this little English lesson
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about how to use, used to, and, would,
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to talk about the past.
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I hope it helped you.
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I hope you understood the explanation.
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and I hope the examples were very, very useful,
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and will help you form your own sentences
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when you do this yourself.
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Thanks again for watching.
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If this is your first time here,
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Gimme a thumbs up, leave a comment.
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And if you have some extra time,
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why don't you stick around,
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and watch another English lesson?
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(upbeat music)
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