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Past Tenses 1 – Used to and Would

textual material

Used to / Would:

  • Form
    • Affirmative Form: subject + used to / would + infinitive
    • Negative Form: subject + did not + use to + infinitive
    • Question Form: did … use to + infinitive?
  • Examples:
    • She used to / would lock the door.
    • I didn’t use to lock the door.
    • Did they use to lock the door?
  • Used to / Would is used:
    • To talk about past repeated actions:
      She would leave the door unlocked whenever she was at home.
      Negative “Would” is uncommon.
    • To describe permanent situations that are no longer true.
      Bill Murphy used to work for the police, but he doesn’t now.Note that “Not used to” is not used when discussing duration:

      • Bill Murphy worked for the police force for over 17 years.
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