So we use "used to" to... that sounds awful... So
we use "used to" to talk about past habits, past routines and past states. We also
use "would" to talk about past habits, past routines and sometimes past states.
How do we know which one to use and why do we have two ways to say the same
thing? My name is Toby, this is SMASH English and here is all you need to know
about "used to" and "would" for the B2 First Cambridge exam. Let's start with the basics. We can use
subject + used to + infinitive to talk about past routines, habits or states. For
example: I used to be fat. This means in the past I was fat but I'm not fat
now. I used to go to school. This means in the past I regularly went to school but
I don't now. I used to smoke. This means in the past I smoked but now I don't. We
can also use this in the negative form to talk about something that is true now
that wasn't true in the past. I didn't used to be fat. That means I am fat now
but in the past I wasn't. I didn't used to go to school. That means I go to
school now but in the past I didn't. And I didn't used to smoke. That means I
smoke now but in the past I was not a smoker. I didn't used to like English but
then I found smash English and now I love it. Because you love it so much
you're going to subscribe! Yes? Yes! The important thing to remember here is that
we use "used to" for past routines, states and habits. To put it simply, when you
want to talk about something that was true in the past but is not true now
be it a state, a habit, a routine, use "used to". It is always correct. But then we
have "would", to make your lives more difficult but also to improve your
English! So be thankful that "would" exists because English people love using "would"
for past habits, routines and sometimes states. Yeah.
Firstly the grammar is subject + would + infinitive or the negative form:
subject + would not + infinitive. Yeah, it's not very difficult.
Now, I'm English and I use "would" a lot more than I use "used to". Why? Because I'm
English and I'm lazy. When I was young I
used to go to school. I used to sits next to a girl called Janet and she used to
pull my hair and I used to cry. She used to laugh and I used to hate it. Oh that
is awful to say! That sounds awfu!l And that story is definitely not true! Ok?
But seriously, "used to", "used to", "used to", "used to". It's quite uncomfortable to move
your mouth that much. When I was young I used to go to school. I'd sit next to a
girl called Janet and she'd pull my hair and I'd cry and she'd laugh and I'd hate
it. That was so much easier and this is the main reason why English people say
"would" more than they do "used to". Some books will tell you it's more formal, no
it's not. It's just easier. I used to do this, I'd do this. It's very difficult to
spot you need to listen carefully. "I'd", "he'd", "she'd", "we'd", "they'd", "I'd do this", "you'd do
that", "we'd do this", "he'd do this" "they'd do that". We shorten the sound. Instead of
they, they'd. They'd do that. Hmm, English pronunciation! It is the hardest in the
world because spoken English and written English... there's just not a connection
there is there? But grammatically speaking is there a difference between "would" and
"used to"? Well if you open your textbook and maybe even if you ask your teacher
they will tell you that we cannot use "would" for past states. But this is not
true! No! No! No! Let's look at my example again. She'd laugh and I'd hate it. Well
hate is a stative verb but I have said would and I have said would correctly,
thank you very much! However let's look at another example. I
used to be fat. OK, that's very good. I would be fat. No! I cannot say that. That
is wrong! But why? Why!? Here I used to be fat is general. In the past, in general, I
was fat. We cannot use "would" for general past states: things that were generally
true in the past. That sounds confusing! Wait a moment! We
can use "would" for states that were true at a specific moment in the past during
another event or activity perhaps. So she'd pull my hair and I'd hate it is
fine because I'm talking about my repeated state at a particular repeated
moment in the past. Let's look at another example then. I used to have a dog. Again
this is general. 'Have" is a stative verb and generally at a point in the past I
had a dog. So in this situation I cannot say "I would have a dog". But... When I used
to go to the park I used to have my dog with me. Okay. When I used to go to the
park I would have my dog with me. Now we can use it because it's specific in that
repeated moment. I had my dog with me. So I can use a state with would. So if you
want to use would for past states you must attach it to another repeated
moment or repeated event in the past. Some more examples: I'd love her when she
sang. After eating so much I'd be sick. When I wore my stilts I'd be so tall.
These are all stative verbs and we can use them with would as long as it is tied
to a specific repeated event in the past. Ignore the textbooks! Follow me! I'm right!
Ha! So for the exam, when it comes to the Use of English actually these two
expressions are very easy to use correctly. For example for the Open
Cloze section in part 2 if there is a "to" or a "used" you know to write "used" or
"to". If there isn't and just an infinitive and we're talking about the past we know
that we need to write "would". Let's look at an example then. "He always _____ to ask for
advice from his friends.". Well, here we have "to" so we need "used". "He
always _____ ask for advice from his friends." So here we need "would" because there is no
"to". Very simple! For part 4 of the Use of English, the word transformations,
normally the word you will have to include will be a "used", a "to" or a "would",
which is really helpful isn't it? But let's look at a tricky example. "When I
was young I could climb trees but now it's too difficult:. The word we have is
"used" so we know that we need a "used to". But this is not as easy as it looks!
I'll give you five seconds to think about it. OK!
The answer is I "used to", obviously, "be able to climb trees". This is because "can"
is a defective verb: it doesn't have an infinitive. When we need an infinitive, " to
+ infinitive" with "can" instead of using "can" we must use "to be able to".
Similar to "must" and "have to". For the Speaking I advise all of my students to
avoid the present simple and use "used to" or maybe "would" as a great way to do that.
Especially for part one and especially for questions that ask you if you like
something or if you dislike something. You can also use this in part two of the
speaking. After your partner has finished talking about their images the examiner
will ask you a question and this is normally a "do you prefer" or a "do you
like" question. Let's look at some very simple examples. What's your favorite
color? Well it used to be yellow, I would wear yellow everywhere but now I
prefer green. Do you like shopping? I used to love shopping and I'd go shopping
every Saturday but now I prefer to stay at home and watch SMASH English videos.
Hmm... for more advice on how to avoid using the present simple especially for
part 1 of the speaking exam watch my video on part 1 of the B2 First speaking
exam! Yeah!? See ya! And with that we are finished. Now you know all you need to
know about "used to" for past routines, habits, and states for the B2
first Cambridge exam. if you liked the video don't forget to SMASH that like
button, subscribe if you haven't already, leave a comment down below! My name is
Toby and this was SMASH English...
