USED TO & WOULD

LEONARDO PALACIN BUSTAMANTE

 USED TO & WOULD
1. USED TO + VERB

2. DIDN’T USE TO + VERB

3. DID + USE TO + VERB?

4. WOULD + VERB

5. STATE VERBS

Leonardo Palacín Bustamante

 USED TO
Used to + verb refers to repeated past actions that no longer occur at
the present time. It can be used with both action and state verbs.

• As a child I used to go to the park with my dad.

• Mary often used to phone her grandma for advice.
• I always used to wear loose trousers as a teenager.

• My best friend used to have a nice house in the countryside.

• I used to be frightened of clowns.

Leonardo Palacín Bustamante

 DIDN’T USE TO
Didn’t use to + verb refers to repeatedly past actions that didn’t occur
but now they do. It can be used with both action and state verbs.

• As a child I didn’t use to play computer games.

• Mary didn’t use to wear skirts.
• I didn’t use to watch so many series.

• My best friend didn’t use to have so much homework.

• I didn’t use to be frightened of the dark.

Leonardo Palacín Bustamante

 DID USE TO…?
Did...use to + verb? Is a type of question to know about repeatedly
past actions that no longer occur at the present time. It can be used
with both action and state verbs.

• As a child, did you use to play computer games? Yes, I did/No, I didn’t
• Didn’t Mary use to wear skirts? Yes, she did/No, she didn’t
• Did you use to watch so many series? Yes, I did/No, I didn’t

• Did your best friend use to have so much homework? Yes, he did/No, he didn’t
• Did you use to be frightened of the dark? Yes, I did/No, I didn’t

Leonardo Palacín Bustamante

 WOULD
Would + verb refers to repeatedly past actions that no longer occur at
the present time. It can be used with action verbs only.

• As a child I would go to the park with my dad.

• Mary would often phone her grandma for advice.
• I’d always wear loose trousers as a teenager.

• My best friend would have a nice house in the countryside.

• I would be frightened of clowns.

Leonardo Palacín Bustamante

 STATE VERBS
State verbs cannot take the –ING form. Examples of them are: love,
like, hate, understand, be, feel, live, etc. However, there are some
exceptions.

Action Verb Verb (state)

• I would think that eggs and avocado eaten at the same time
were dangerous.
THINK (mental THINK (opinion)
reasoning) • I would think for hours to solve a maths exam. √
HAVE HAVE • Alice would have breakfast for lunch. √
(=eat,take, (possession)
experience) • Alice would have a house in Miraflores.
• My friends would get really nervous before a test.
GET (=obtain) GET (=feel)
• My Friends would get lots of diplomas. √
Leonardo Palacín Bustamante