Used to vs would

Question

Hi,Can used to and would be used with a fixed time or period?Eg,''I used to/would visit my village in 1999.''Is the following use of '' used to ''correct?''I used to /would  visit my friend for 3 hours .''''I used to /would win the chess contest in 1999.'' Thanks

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

When used about the past, these terms indicate past habits, ie repeated actions.

Can used to and would be used with a fixed time or period?

Eg,''I used to/would visit my village in 1999.'' Sounds like you did it a lot, eg every week.

Is the following use of '' used to ''correct?

''I used to /would visit my friend for 3 hours .'' Sounds like you did it a lot, eg every week.

''I used to /would win the chess contest in 1999.'' Sounds incorrect, because it sound like there was just one chess contest in 1999.

Clive

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousCan used to and would be used with a fixed time or period?

I assume you are referring to that would which is more or less synonymous with used to rather than to conditional would.

They certainly don't make sense with a fixed time when repetition is not possible.

*She [used to / would] have a bad cold on January 20, 2011.

But when it's possible to interpret the statement as the description of a regularly recurring event, it's OK.

She [(always) used to / would (always)] have a bad cold in January.

(This can be interpreted as "every January".)

The same is true of fixed time periods. There has to be enough time in the specified time period for some action reasonably to occur repeatedly.

*They [used to / would] paint the whole house from 2:00 pm until 2:30 pm yesterday.

They [used to / would] paint the whole house every other summer.

_____________________

I used to/would visit my village in 1999. OK. You have a whole year - 1999. In that year, it is possible to visit your village many times, which is what the sentence implies.

I used to /would visit my friend for 3 hours. OK. You don't specify any time period here, so you are saying that you visited repeatedly, and each time you spent three hours at your friend's place.

I used to /would win the chess contest in 1999. No. "the chess contest in 1999" refers to one contest only. This contradicts the meaning of "used to" or "would", which is that something happened repeatedly.

______________

Even though you can specify a fixed time period in these kinds of sentences, it's not always particularly idiomatic to do so. Usually a very vague time period is specified (e.g., When I was a child) or none at all.

CJ

Used to vs would

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions