Exercise 1

Edwardian time manners.

Make sentences with the prompts and used to/would.

1. Edwardians didn’t use to shake hands.

2. Debutantes used to wear a white dress with three feathers at
their rst ball.
3. After her debutante event, the young lady would attend “the
season,” a round of London mansion parties beginning after
Christmas and ending in mid-summer.
4. Arranged marriages used to be common in the Edwardian era.
5. At the parties, the hostess would introduce the guests to one
another.
6. At the parties, ladies didn’t use to help themselves to the wine.
The gentlemen would ll the glass for them.
7. People in the Edwardian era used to have fridges in their
homes.
8. Women used to wear hats with feathers.

Exercise 2
Rewrite these sentences to make questions. Di erent options are possible.

1. Did Edwardians use to shake hands?

2. What did debutantes use to wear a white dress with three feathers at their rst ball?
3. What would the young lady attend after her debutante event?
4. Did arranged marriages use to be common in the Edwardian era?
5. Who used to introduce the guests to one another at the parties?
6. Did ladies use to help themselves to the wine at the parties?
7. Did people in the Edwardian era use to have fridges in their homes?
8. Did women use to wear hats with feathers?

Exercise 3
Find and correct the mistakes in each sentence.

1. People didn’t use to have bathrooms and toilets in their houses.

2. Kids didn’t use to go to school as there were fewer of them and kids
used to work.
3. People didn’t use to travel in the past.
4. People used to live in the countryside.
5. Rich people would play lawn tennis and golf on the weekend.
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Exercise 4
Read the article and write at least 5 sentences with
used to/would.

Life in Tudor Britain

Life in Tudor Britain was harsh - the average life expectancy was just 35
years. Tudor England was a farming society. Most of the population (over 90
%) lived in small villages and made their living from farming.

Homelife
There were none of the comforts we have today. Water was collected from
village pumps, wells or streams but was often polluted.

Food
The rich could a ord all kinds of meats and sh and expensive French wine.
The best food was considered to be roast veal and venison. People also ate
robins, badgers, otters, tortoises and seagulls.

Entertainment
The types of sports or pastimes a person did was another sign of their rank
or wealth. The rich had time for falconry, hunting, jousting, tennis and bowls.

The Poor
The poor had to work hard and struggled to survive. They worked six days a
week and only had holy days and public holidays o work. They ate coarse
grey bread. Soups were made from vegetables and herbs. Meat was a luxury
but poor people sometimes kept animals to provide milk, cheese and eggs.

Students’ own answers

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