:"Would"

Question

I came across this paragraph and still got confused about the usage of "would". Why the author didn't use "would go" instead of "went? Why he used would for the rest?

Every year on this very day, the old man and his wife went into the woods to find the perfect Christmas tress. This usually took awhile but eventually they would find a tree that they were sure was the prettiest ever. Then they would bring the tree back to the house and begin decorating.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

mezzopiano~~Why the author didn't use~~ Why didn't the author use "would go" instead of "went? ~~Why he used~~ Why did he use "would" for the rest?

Both the past and the form with "would" can be used somewhat like we use "used to", that is, to show that something happened habitually in the past.

It's not unusual to start with the past (went) and then to use the "would" form for the rest (would find, would bring), but in this case the first sentence starts with "Every year", so we already know that the sentence is about something habitual. It happens every year. So we don't need to emphasize the habitual part with the "would" form. We can just use the past. The next two sentences do not have expressions like "every year", so the "would" form is used to emphasize that the actions were habitual.

Careful: This "would" does not have the same meaning or usage as the "would" that occurs in conditional sentences. This is a different use of "would".

CJ

:"Would"

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