USED TO and Would

Reading comprehension | “The good old days”

I was born in 1936 and I lived with my family in a village near

Bristol. My father was a fruit farm advisor and my mother
was a housewife. But when our teacher retired from my
school, my mother asked for the school books and started a
small school at home. I think about nine children used to
come to study with us. Mother taught us French and English,
even though she was very deaf!
USED TO and Would

Reading comprehension | “The good old days”

Because it was the war, most people didn’t use to have much
food. We were lucky as we had lots of land so we used to
grow our own vegetables and we had chickens, rabbits and a
pig. But mother would feed us lentils every day, which I
hated! I still can’t stand them now. I remember hiding lentils
in my pockets – and I’d sow them in the garden.
USED TO and Would

Reading comprehension | “The good old days”

Luckily I didn’t ever wait for them to grow! I think

that was the beginning of my gardening career,
because after I left home that’s what I studied at
college! We didn’t have a television until I was about
ten. Instead, we listened to the radio a lot after
school, and we would play cards and board games,
and play with friends outside.
USED TO and Would

Reading comprehension | “The good old days”

We couldn’t really afford many holidays – people

didn’t in those days. There wasn’t much petrol, and
it was very expensive. But when I was a bit older we
had a caravan and I remember it had a tin bath that
hung down under the floorboards. We used to love
bath time on holidays!
USED TO and Would

Reading comprehension | “The good old days”

Nowadays people buy so many clothes, but when I

was little people used to make them all. My
grandmother would cut up old clothes and make
skirts and blouses from them. And she used to give
us a home made jumper every year that she knitted
from wool she took from old jumpers.
USED TO and Would

Reading comprehension | “The good old days”

These jumpers were lovely – bright and stripy. And when we

made holes in our socks grandmother would always mend
them for us. Mmm … we didn’t have a lot in those days, but I
had a very happy childhood.
USED TO and Would

TASK 1 | Multiple Choice Game

1. Why did Molly's mother start a school?

a. The teacher was ill.

b. The teacher left.
c. There were no more books at school.
USED TO and Would

TASK 1 | Multiple Choice Game

2. What subjects did Molly's mother teach?

a. French and English

b. Just English
c. Gardening and English
USED TO and Would

TASK 1 | Multiple Choice Game

3. How many kinds of animal did they have?

a. One
b. Two
c. Three
USED TO and Would

TASK 1 | Multiple Choice Game

4. What does Molly think was the start of her gardening career?

a. Trying to grow lentils.

b. Looking after the animals.
c. Going to college.
USED TO and Would

TASK 1 | Multiple Choice Game

5. What did she enjoy about the caravan?

a. It wasn't expensive.
b. It had a bath inside.
c. It was old.
USED TO and Would

TASK 1 | Multiple Choice Game

6. Where did Molly's clothes come from?

a. Her grandmother bought them.

b. Her grandmother made them.
c. We don't know.
USED TO and Would

TASK 1 | Multiple Choice Game

7. What does Molly think about her childhood?

a. She enjoyed it because she had lots of things.

b. She didn't enjoy it because she didn't have enough.
c. She enjoyed it even though she didn't have many things.
USED TO and Would

TASK 2 | Language activity. Match the beginning and ending of these sentences.

Yesterday evening but he stopped three years ago.

John used to smoke we had dinner at seven o’clock.

Seventy years ago until I bought a car.

I didn’t use to speak English but now they often stay indoors and watch
TV.
I used to cycle everywhere I used to write everything by hand.

Before I learned to use a people used to listen to the radio instead of watching
computer TV.
Children always used to play until I moved to the United Kingdom.
outside
USED TO and Would

TASK 2 | Language activity. Match the beginning and ending of these sentences.

Yesterday evening but he stopped three years ago.

John used to smoke we had dinner at seven o’clock.

Seventy years ago until I bought a car.

I didn’t use to speak English but now they often stay indoors and watch
TV.
I used to cycle everywhere I used to write everything by hand.

Before I learned to use a people used to listen to the radio instead of watching
computer TV.
Children always used to play until I moved to the United Kingdom.
outside
USED TO and Would

TASK 2 | Language activity. Match the beginning and ending of these sentences.

Yesterday evening but he stopped three years ago.

John used to smoke we had dinner at seven o’clock.

Seventy years ago until I bought a car.

I didn’t use to speak English but now they often stay indoors and watch
TV.
I used to cycle everywhere I used to write everything by hand.

Before I learned to use a people used to listen to the radio instead of watching
computer TV.
Children always used to play until I moved to the United Kingdom.
outside
USED TO and Would

TASK 2 | Language activity. Match the beginning and ending of these sentences.

Yesterday evening but he stopped three years ago.

John used to smoke we had dinner at seven o’clock.

Seventy years ago until I bought a car.

I didn’t use to speak English but now they often stay indoors and watch
TV.
I used to cycle everywhere I used to write everything by hand.

Before I learned to use a people used to listen to the radio instead of

computer watching TV.
Children always used to play until I moved to the United Kingdom.
outside
USED TO and Would

TASK 2 | Language activity. Match the beginning and ending of these sentences.

Yesterday evening but he stopped three years ago.

John used to smoke we had dinner at seven o’clock.

Seventy years ago until I bought a car.

I didn’t use to speak English but now they often stay indoors and watch
TV.
I used to cycle everywhere I used to write everything by hand.

Before I learned to use a people used to listen to the radio instead of watching
computer TV.
Children always used to play until I moved to the United Kingdom.
outside
USED TO and Would

TASK 2 | Language activity. Match the beginning and ending of these sentences.

Yesterday evening but he stopped three years ago.

John used to smoke we had dinner at seven o’clock.

Seventy years ago until I bought a car.

I didn’t use to speak English but now they often stay indoors and watch
TV.
I used to cycle everywhere I used to write everything by hand.

Before I learned to use a people used to listen to the radio instead of watching
computer TV.
Children always used to play until I moved to the United Kingdom.
outside
USED TO and Would

TASK 2 | Language activity. Match the beginning and ending of these sentences.

Yesterday evening but he stopped three years ago.

John used to smoke we had dinner at seven o’clock.

Seventy years ago until I bought a car.

I didn’t use to speak English but now they often stay indoors and watch
TV.
I used to cycle everywhere I used to write everything by hand.

Before I learned to use a people used to listen to the radio instead of watching
computer TV.
Children always used to play until I moved to the United Kingdom.
outside
USED TO and Would

TASK 2 | Language activity. Match the beginning and ending of these sentences.

Yesterday evening but he stopped three years ago.

John used to smoke we had dinner at seven o’clock.

Seventy years ago until I bought a car.

I didn’t use to speak English but now they often stay indoors and watch
TV.
I used to cycle everywhere I used to write everything by hand.

Before I learned to use a people used to listen to the radio instead of watching
computer TV.
Children always used to play until I moved to the United Kingdom.
outside
USED TO and Would

TASK 3| Complete then sentences with used to… and the verbs in the box.

play listen to have read live like

Example: When I was seven years old I used to like ice-cream.

1. I ____________hide and seek.
2. Ten years ago I ____________ in an apartment.
3. When I was in elementary school I__________a bicycle.
4. My grand’pa ____________ to the radio and ____________many books
USED TO and Would

TASK 4| Speaking

Ten years ago, Max was a student, now he is a doctor. Use the prompts to ask and
answer questions about Max, as in the example
THEN NOW

be very messy be very neat

live with his parents have his own house

take the bus to the university have his own car

play soccer go to the gym

wear long hair wear short hair

A: Did Max use to be very neat?

B: No, he didn’t. He used to be very messy.
USED TO and Would

TASK 4| Speaking

3. Have you changed in the last five years? Write answers to these questions.

1. What TV programs did you use to watch?

2. Where did you use to go to school?
3. Did you use to like vegetables?
4. Who used to be your best friend?
5. What color did you use to like?
6. Did you use to exercise often?