Used to and would
Read this comment by the founding director of a restaurant chain.
Underline expressions that describe his pa\ t business activities.
~ Which one describes a state? -
EJ Forming the past with used to
A1 Used to has the same form for all subjects and cannot
describe the present or the future.
+ used to work there.
~
I/You/He/She//t/We!rhey didn't I did not use to work
- there.
Why did I/you/he/she/
? use to work there?
Did it/we/they
'@ Used to is much more common than didn't use to.
Never used to is three times more common than
didn't use to in spokeh English.
A2 In spoken English you do not always need a verb after
used to if the verb has already been used earlier in the
sentence or conversation.
A Do you work nights? B: I used to.
Our staff don't work as many hours as they used to.
IE] Using used to
81 You can use used to instead of the past simple to describe
a p11st habit or regular activity.
When I was a postman, I used to get up I got up at 5 am every
morning.
You can also use used to instead of the past simple to
describe past states or situations.
This company used to have I had a factory in France, but we
closed it in 2004.
A Used to does not describe single events or actions in
the past.
This company made a profit last year. (not used fO meke)
~ <"" Before I became a restaurateur,
,\ / 1was in the music business. I used to go to
America regularly and would always come
back with lots of ideas: something for a
menu, something promotional.
A Used to does not describe how many times or for
how long somet hing happened.
Stefan visited London twice on business. (not usefi fO visit)
He ran the company for 20 years. (not usefi fO run)
82 Used to normally indicates that the past habit or state is
not true now.
I used to spend a lot of time travelling for work, but now I'm
completely office-based.
[!JI Would
C1 You can use would(n't) like used to to refer to past habits
or activities if the.time or context is clear.
When I worked at Stanard's I'd always be the first into the office.
(context= When I worked at Stanard's)
In those days she'd often take on too much work and she
wouldn't delegate anything. (context= In those days)
A Would is not used to describe states in the past.
Don't use would with state verbs.
This garden used to be the office car park. (not wou.'d be)
A Questions about past habits or activities with would
are very unusual in English. Use used to or past simple.
Did you use to work I Did you work for Apple?
(not Woukiyou work)
C2 We can use would+ adverb of frequency to emphasise
how often something happened.
Negotiating new contracts would often involve weeks of
meetings with our suppliers.
A Remember that would has many other uses.
..,... See Unit 13 (Modals 1) and Unit 18 (Conditionals 2) for
other uses of would.