Lesson 27 drill — used to vs would vs Past Simple for past habits
Three ways to talk about the past, with sharp differences. (1) 'USED TO + infinitive' — for past habits AND past states that are no longer true. 'I used to smoke' / 'I used to live in Madrid' / 'There used to be a café here.' Works for BOTH actions and states. (2) 'WOULD + infinitive' — only for past habitual ACTIONS (not states). 'Every summer we'd drive to the coast.' / 'On Sundays my dad would make pancakes.' You CANNOT say 'I would live in Madrid' to mean 'I lived there for a while' — only 'used to' works for states. (3) PAST SIMPLE — for a single completed event ('I smoked one cigarette in 2019'). NEGATIVES & QUESTIONS with 'used to': 'I didn't use to go to the gym' / 'Did you use to play sport?' — note the spelling drops the 'd' in negatives/questions. WARNING: don't confuse 'used to + infinitive' (past habit) with 'be USED TO + -ing' (be accustomed to) — 'I'm used to working late' = it's normal for me now.
Which is INCORRECT?
Negative of 'used to':
'I'm used to working late' means:
Which CANNOT use 'would'?
Pick the natural sentence about a past STATE.
I ____ to smoke but I quit two years ago.
Every Sunday my dad ____ make pancakes.
I didn't ____ to enjoy running. Now I love it.
I've ____ back on coffee — three cups, not six.
I'm ____ to working from home now.