Would vs used to

Question

Is there any difference between "would " and "used to" ?I heard and read that both of them express habitual actions,but I didn't get the meaning and the difference existing between them.Please,could you explain more with some examples ?

Alex-93 · Accepted Answer

With "used to" you express what you liked doing, or what you did frequently at a certain time in the past.

"I used to play with my cousin every day"
"I used to study a lot for my exams"

"Would" is most commonly used to create conditional verb forms. It's also the past form of the modal verb "will".

If I were the president, I wouldn't raise the taxes.

Would is also used to express desire or polite questions.

"I would like to have a coffee"

I hope I could help you

Alex

Everlastinghope · Answer

Alex-93
"Would" is most commonly used to create conditional verb forms. It's also the past form of the modal verb "will".

If I were the president, I wouldn't raise the taxes.

Except for conditional,would can express the idea of habit,but I know that there's difference between "would and used to" and it's not clear for me.

Anonymous · Answer

Alex has given a good explanation, but remember that many native speakers of English use "would" when describing past events. This is often it is done when reminiscing about the past. So at times, "used to" and "would" are almost synonymous.

Example:

When we were children, we would go to the lake every Summer where we would fish.

The same sentence with "used to" is:

When we were children, we used to go to the lake every Summer where we would fish. OR

When we were children, we used to go to the lake every Summer to fish.

It sounds awkward in English to say:

When we were children, we used to go to the lake every Summer and we used to fish.

Dimsumexpress · Answer

This is how I see it.

everlastinghopeIs there any difference between "would " and "used to" ?

Getting "would" mixed up with "used to" is one that never crosses my mind. Perhaps, you meant usage resembles something like the following:

When I was little, grandfather used to take me to the park to cool off in the eveing during the hot summer. The " used to + verb " construction describes the habitual act fact of the past.

vs

When I was little, grandfather would take me to the park to cool off in the eveing during the hot summer. The " Would + verb " construct offers a sense of desire or intent, present or past.

When collocated In this context, "would" and "used to" share meaningful commonality and come across basically with little difference .

However, we must be careful not to extend this usage to presume interchangeabilty as a common practice.

I used to like Mary before she was mixed up with drug= I don't like her anymore, which is not the same as " I would love Mary before she was mixed up..."

CalifJim · Answer

everlastinghopeIs there any difference between "would " and "used to" ?
I heard and read that both of them express habitual actions,but I didn't get the meaning and the difference existing between them.

Please,could you explain more with some examples ?

You can use either would or used to for habitual actions in the past. But don't use would for states that existed in the past; use only used to.

Actions:

Every Christmas we used to drive to Grandma's house for dinner.
Every Christmas we would drive to Grandma's house for dinner.
When I was in college I used to eat at the same restaurant every Sunday.
When I was in college I would eat at the same restaurant every Sunday.

States:

When I was younger I used to believe that pigs could fly.
*When I was younger I would believe that pigs could fly.
Many years ago I used to be afraid of heights.
*Many years ago I would be afraid of heights.

CJ

Everlastinghope · Answer

Thanks a million.

Anonymous · Answer

Besides the info dimsumexpress provides, I heard from a British person that he uses "would" to emphazise annoyance about a repeated action in the past which was not welcome, as in "he would drop by at the time we were getting ready for bed".

Anonymous · Answer

Hello, well I've got it, but would you tell me what is the difference between an action and a state...

Ok, what I know is that a state is "true" but what about this sentence.

Ten years ago, I used to have a motorbike.

or

Ten years ago, I would have a motorbike.

Taking into account grammar itself... what is the best way to say it r can I use both of them?

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymouswould you tell me what is the difference between an action and a state

Something that works 98% of the time is this: Imagine what the verb expresses. Is there any motion? Are any parts moving? If so, there is an action. Is there no motion? Are there no parts moving? If so, there is a state.

Think of someone "throwing a ball". Can you imagine an arm moving? Can you imagine the ball moving through the air? That's movement. That's motion. That's action.

Think of someone "having a cousin named Ken". They are just sitting there, but they are doing nothing at all. But still, they have a cousin named Ken. They do not have to move anything to have a cousin named Ken. They do not even have to lift a finger, and yet they have a cousin named Ken. That is not an action. That is a state.

Anonymouswhat I know is that a state is "true"

No. States are not true or false. Either a state exists or it does not exist with respect to some person or thing.

AnonymousTen years ago, I used to have a motorbike.
~~Ten years ago, I would have a motorbike.~~

We can have things without moving. A person does not have to move in any way for us to recognize that he has something.

CJ

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