HealthyHabits
used to · would for past habits · lifestyle change
Your level · You are here
Get Talking · Section 1
5 minStart the conversation
Name one habit you USED TO have five years ago that you don't have now. What changed?
If you could lock in ONE healthy habit forever, which one? Why that one?
Tell your teacher about one lifestyle change you tried and gave up on. What killed it?
Grammar · Section 2
8–10 minused 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.
I used to smoke, but I quit two years ago.
Every Sunday my dad would make pancakes — never missed a week.
There used to be a bakery on this corner.
I didn't use to enjoy running. Now I genuinely look forward to it.
I'm used to working from home now — couldn't go back to an office.
Question 1.Which is INCORRECT?
Question 2.Negative of 'used to':
Question 3.'I'm used to working late' means:
Question 4.Which CANNOT use 'would'?
Build the sentence → spot the natural chunks → say it aloud → reply like a real conversation.
1.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
2.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
3.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
4.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
Quick check 1.Pick the natural sentence about a past STATE.
Vocabulary · Section 3
5–7 minWords & phrases to learn
Pick up (a habit)
start doing something regularly
In context
"I picked up running during lockdown and never stopped."
Now try it yourself
Name a habit you picked up in the last year.
Give up / kick (a habit)
stop doing it (usually a bad habit)
In context
"She gave up sugar in January. Still going."
Now try it yourself
Tell your teacher a habit you tried to give up — successful or not.
Cut back / cut down on
reduce, not eliminate
In context
"I've cut back on coffee — three cups, not six."
Now try it yourself
Name one thing you'd like to cut back on this month.
Stick to / stick with
continue doing despite difficulty
In context
"The hard part isn't starting — it's sticking to it."
Now try it yourself
Describe a habit you successfully stuck with.
Fall off the wagon
return to a bad habit you'd quit
In context
"I was vegetarian for two years, then totally fell off the wagon."
Now try it yourself
Confess a time you fell off the wagon (light topic only).
Couch potato
very inactive person
In context
"I was a total couch potato until my mid-twenties."
Now try it yourself
Describe your couch-potato weekend in three sentences.
Wellbeing
overall mental + physical health
In context
"Sleep affects my wellbeing more than diet does."
Now try it yourself
Rank diet, sleep, exercise, social life by impact on your wellbeing.
Burn out
exhaust yourself by overworking
In context
"He burnt out after two years of 70-hour weeks."
Now try it yourself
Describe what burnout feels like, in three honest sentences.
Pick at least three words from above and use each one in a sentence about your real life. Say each one aloud before you write.
Ask your teacher (or a partner) a question that uses one of today's words. They reply using a different word.
Rank today's words from most to least useful for you this week. Defend your top choice.
Finish: "Honestly, I'd say…" using one of today's words.
Tip: aim to reuse at least two of these words later in the Speaking and Writing tasks.
Tap an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.
Pronunciation · Section 4
3–4 min'used to' /ˈjuːst tu/ — the silent merge that catches everyone
Native speakers do NOT pronounce 'used to' as /juːzd tuː/ — they say /ˈjuːs tə/ in connected speech. The 'd' is dropped, the two 't's merge, and 'to' weakens to schwa. Same with 'would' for past habits: /wəd/ (weak), almost just a 'd' sound — 'we'd drive' sounds like /widˈdrʌɪv/. Stress sits on the main verb ('SMOKE', 'MAKE pancakes'), not on used to / would. Listen for it in the audio — it sounds nothing like the spelling.
- • I /ˈjuːs tə/ SMOKE↘
- • Every Sunday my dad'd MAKE pancakes↘
- • There /ˈjuːs tə/ be a CAFÉ here↘
- • I /ˈjuːst nt tə/ enjoy RUNNING↘ — now I LOVE it↗
Reading · Section 5
8–10 minWhy almost every January resolution fails by February
Almost everyone reading this used to set ambitious January resolutions: join the gym, give up sugar, learn Spanish, sleep eight hours. And almost everyone watched those resolutions quietly die by mid-February. This isn't a personal failure. It's a design failure.
The research is uncomfortably clear on why. First, we try to change too much at once. Five new habits at the same time has roughly a 5% success rate; one new habit has closer to 50%. Second, we rely on motivation, which is a finite resource that runs out by week three. The people who stick to new habits don't have more motivation — they have better systems. They put the running shoes by the bed. They keep the chocolate out of the house. They schedule the gym at the same time every day so there's no daily decision to make.
Third, and this is the unintuitive one: people who fall off the wagon once and start again WITHIN A WEEK keep the habit. People who fall off and wait a month to restart almost never come back. The skill isn't avoiding failure — it's recovering from it fast.
If you've tried and failed before, you're not lazy. You're a normal person who tried to do this on willpower, the way almost everyone does. Pick one habit, build the system, and forgive yourself the first time you slip — as long as you start again on Monday.
Question 1.What success rate does the text give for changing five habits simultaneously?
Question 2.How do successful habit-keepers differ from those who rely on motivation?
Question 3.What does the writer imply by calling failure a 'design failure' rather than a 'personal failure'?
Question 4.What is the writer's attitude toward people who fall off the wagon and restart within a week?
Q1.The text says successful habit-changers have more willpower than other people.
Q2.Trying to change one habit at a time has a much higher success rate than five at once.
Listening · Section 6
8–10 minTwo friends comparing notes one year into lifestyle changes
Listening audio
Tap play to listen. Replay as many times as you need.
Show transcript
Olu:Right — honest check-in. A year ago we both said we'd change something big. How'd it actually go?
Beth:Mixed. I used to drink coffee from the moment I woke up to about 4pm — six, seven cups easy. I've cut back to two, and I genuinely sleep better. So that one stuck.
Olu:That's huge. I used to be such a couch potato — would literally spend whole Sundays on the sofa. I picked up running in March. Stuck with it for four months, then summer holiday happened and I completely fell off the wagon.
Beth:Did you start again though?
Olu:That's the thing — I didn't, for about two months. Classic. Eventually a friend dragged me out and I'm back at it, but only three times a week now, not five. Honestly, three is sustainable. Five was burnout territory.
Beth:I think that's the bit nobody tells you. The sustainable version of the habit beats the ambitious version every time.
Olu:Hundred percent. What about the sleep thing — weren't you trying to be in bed by eleven?
Beth:Oh god, total disaster for the first six months. I'd say I was going to bed at eleven and then would scroll until one. Classic. What fixed it was leaving the phone in the kitchen — same as you said last year about your screen time, actually.
Olu:Friction wins, willpower loses.
Beth:Apparently. And the wild thing is, the coffee thing got easier once I was sleeping properly. They're all connected.
Olu:That's the bit I genuinely didn't expect. Fix one, the others get easier. Right — what are we picking up for next year?
Beth:One thing each, not five. Let's actually take our own advice.
Question 1.How much coffee did Beth used to drink, and how much does she drink now?
Question 2.What specifically fixed Beth's sleep habit?
Question 3.What does Olu mean when he says 'three is sustainable — five was burnout territory'?
Question 4.What does Beth imply when she says the coffee and sleep improvements are 'all connected'?
Exam tip · Section 7
5 minWriting — Cambridge B1 Preliminary / FCE article (lifestyle change)
Task
Write a 140–190 word article for an English-language student magazine titled 'One habit that changed me.' Use 'used to' and 'would' at least 3 times each, plus 5 lesson vocabulary items. End with practical advice for readers.
Strategy
Article tasks reward narrative tension — before vs after. (1) Open with the BEFORE state using 'used to' / 'would' / 'I was a…'. (2) Pivot to the trigger ('Then…' / 'One day…' / 'Last year…'). (3) Describe the AFTER honestly — what worked, what didn't. (4) Close with practical advice to the reader, not a summary. Examiners reward range: mix Past Simple, Past Continuous, used to, would, and Present Perfect. Avoid lists of habits — pick ONE and go deep.
Example
I used to be a complete couch potato. Honestly. I'd spend entire Sundays on the sofa, order takeaway, and tell myself 'next week'. Next week never arrived. Last March, almost by accident, a friend dragged me out for a run. I lasted about four minutes and felt awful, but I went again on Wednesday. And again on Friday. I cut back on takeaways, not because I was virtuous but because they made the next run miserable. A year later, I run three times a week. Not five — five was burnout territory. Three is sustainable. If you're a couch potato reading this — and I see you, I was you — pick ONE habit, not five, and find a friend to drag you out. The first month feels terrible. The second month, it's just what you do. Forgive yourself the days you skip. Just start again on Monday.
Practice · Section 8
8–10 minFill in the blank
Question 1.I ____ to smoke but I quit two years ago.
Question 2.Every Sunday my dad ____ make pancakes.
Question 3.I didn't ____ to enjoy running. Now I love it.
Question 4.I've ____ back on coffee — three cups, not six.
Question 5.I'm ____ to working from home now.
There isn't one "right" answer — write a natural version, then compare with the model.
Q1.Describe a past habit you've quit using 'used to'.
Q2.Describe a repeated past action using 'would'.
Q3.Describe a past state using 'used to'.
Q4.Talk about something that's normal for you now using 'be used to + -ing'.
Writing · Section 9
5 minPut it in writing
Your task
Write a 130–160 word honest reflection on a healthy habit you've tried to build (or break) in the last year. Use 'used to' twice, 'would' for past habit once, 'be used to + -ing' once, and at least 5 lesson vocabulary items. Include what worked, what didn't, and what you'd do differently.
Your answer
Your work saves automatically0 words
Show model answer
I used to be the textbook couch potato — would spend entire weekends on the sofa, takeaway boxes everywhere. Last January I tried five habits at once: gym, no sugar, no alcohol, eight hours' sleep, daily Spanish. By February I'd given up on all of them. Classic. What actually worked, six months later, was picking just one: walking 8,000 steps a day. Boring, unambitious, and exactly why it stuck. I cut back on takeaways naturally because I was moving more. I started sleeping better because I was tired in the evenings, not wired. I'm now used to walking instead of taking the bus, and the rest followed. If I did it again I'd pick ONE small habit, set up the friction (shoes by the door), and forgive myself the days I slipped — as long as I started again the next Monday.
Speaking · Section 10
10–15 minMake it a real conversation
Role-play with your teacher (or a partner): you're both checking in on lifestyle changes you started a year ago. Discuss what stuck, what didn't, and why. Use 'used to' / 'would' / 'be used to' at least 3 times each, plus 5 lesson vocabulary items. End by each picking ONE habit to focus on for the next 3 months.
Useful phrases
- • I used to…but now…
- • I'd often / every weekend I would…
- • I cut back on… / I picked up…
- • I totally fell off the wagon when…
- • What worked for me was…
Speaking reflection & notes
Your work saves automatically0 words
- AHonest question — what's the one habit you've actually managed to stick to this year?
- B_______________
- AWhat did you used to do before that?
- B_______________
- AAnd what's the trick? I keep falling off the wagon by February.
- B_______________
Homework · Section 11
Take-homeTake it home
Write a 150-word 'then vs now' paragraph using used to, would, and be used to + -ing.
Interview a friend or family member for 5 minutes about their lifestyle 10 years ago. Note 5 examples of past habits.
Listen to a 3-minute podcast or YouTube clip on habit change. Note 5 used to / would structures.
Homework notes
Your work saves automatically0 words
Recap · Section 12
2–3 minWhat you've learned
- 'used to + infinitive' = past habit OR past state (actions and states).
- 'would + infinitive' = past habitual action only (NOT states).
- Past Simple = single completed event.
- 'be used to + -ing' = it's normal for me NOW (totally different meaning).
- Lifestyle change: pick ONE habit, build systems not willpower, restart fast after slipping.