- Hi, there!
I'm your English coach Christina
and welcome to Speak English With Christina
where you'll learn about American culture
and business know-how to become confident in English.
In American English there are a few different ways
that we can talk about things that we did in the past
that don't happen anymore.
You may already be familiar with the past simple,
for example if the action happened just once
you could say, "I went to the library yesterday,"
or "I visited the company headquarters last week,"
but how can you express repeated actions in the past
that you did again and again?
It's quite simple and it's our topic for this episode.
Let's go.
(upbeat music)
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(upbeat music)
Let me tell you a story about me and my sister, Lisa.
If you're a student in
the Understand Real American English online course,
you met Lisa in lesson one.
Well, when we were kids, we would fight all the time.
Like, we would run around the house.
We would pull each other's hair,
and we would call each other stupid names,
and it would drive my mom and dad crazy.
Even when we went to the same school years later,
we would make fun of each other all the time.
But now, we're more mature and we actually like each other.
I guess that's just how siblings are.
And, all of that, that's a true story.
Did you notice a key word in my story?
That word is would
and one of the most common ways
to talk about something that you did repeatedly
in the past is to use would.
(upbeat music)
We often use would when we're describing our childhood.
For example.
When I was young, I would draw every afternoon after school.
Or, when I was a kid, I would ride my bike everywhere.
Of course, you can use would for other repeated actions
that happened at any age, not just when you were a kid.
For example.
On our vacation last year,
we would go for long swims in the lake all day long.
Or, before picking up my kids from school,
I would go and have a coffee at the cafe
to relax a little bit.
Or, when I first started my job,
I would write the day's goals down
before I started work every day.
Or another example.
When I was a sales rep, I would make sure
that I always listened carefully
to what my customers wanted.
Do you see how in each of those examples
the word would is used to describe a repeated action
or habit that happened in the past?
Now, what if you want to talk about
a past state or situation?
(upbeat music)
We use used to when describing past states or situations.
For example, I used to be a lawyer.
This describes a past situation
that lasted for a period of time.
If I said would instead of used to in this example,
that's incorrect.
Like, before I became a judge, I would be a lawyer.
No, that just doesn't make sense.
You would say I used to be a lawyer.
So, we use used to to talk about past situations
that are no longer true today.
Often jobs that we did in the past,
or places where we lived in the past,
like I used to work in a school
and I used to live in the US,
and here are some other examples of used to
to describe past situations
that lasted for a period of time
but are no longer true today.
I used to work in the mail department,
but I was promoted.
Our company headquarters used to be in the United States,
but then they moved to Canada.
And I used to have trouble understanding American English.
You'll be able to say that one after
you take one of my courses.
You can also use used to to describe a repeated action
or recurrent habit in the past,
similar to would, and here's some examples
where you can use both.
I used to ride my bike to work,
but then I got an apartment right near the office.
Or I would ride my bike to work every day,
so I was really in shape then.
Another example.
We used to have meetings every Tuesday morning,
but we stopped that.
Another one.
We would have meetings every Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m.
It was awful.
(upbeat music)
So you can see that they're actually quite similar,
would and used to,
so if you're hesitating, you know,
which one should I use,
just go with used to simply because it's more versatile.
You can use it in both situations
to talk about repeated actions,
but also to talk about past situations
that are on longer true today.
Often, would is used more like
to paint, you know, the backdrop to the story.
To give some context.
Sometimes we often use it
when we're a little nostalgic,
like, when I was a kid I would have
so much time to do my favorite activities
and now I just have to work
and take care of things.
So, but if you're in doubt go with used to.
You can use it for both situations.
(upbeat music)
So, I told you some stories about things
that my sister and I would do when we were kids.
Now, what about you?
Do you have any stories
that you would like to share
about your past experiences, habits,
or maybe the places that you used to live in.
Did your siblings ever pull your hair
like my sister and I did?
Hopefully not, but you never know.
So share your past habits, experiences,
and the places that you've lived in the comments below
using would or used to.
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and I'll see you next time.