Lesson 89: Unit 142 - Would / Used To

About this lesson

In this lesson you will learn how to use 'would' and 'used to' to talk about repeated actions, habits and routines in the past. You will understand why 'would' CANNOT be used for past states – 'used to' is required there. You will read authentic texts about pirates, fashion and the Thracians, in which these forms appear in real context. Through exercises and speaking tasks you will consolidate the rule and learn to recognise markers of repetition such as 'often', 'usually', 'always' and 'every Sunday'.

40 minutes

What you'll learn

• Understand the difference between 'would' and 'used to' for repeated past actions
• Use only 'used to' (not 'would') for past states
• Recognise markers of repetition such as 'often', 'usually', 'always', 'every Sunday'
• Read and understand texts containing 'would' and 'used to'
• Build correct sentences about past habits in speech and writing

Lesson vocabulary

• treasure Dreams of finding lost treasure have almost come true recently.
• cave The machine was used in a cave near the seashore.
• bury The pirates would often bury gold in the cave.
• fail The pirates would fail to collect the gold.
• soil The leader was examining the soil near the entrance of the cave.
• thoroughly The party searched the whole cave thoroughly.
• trunk They didn't find anything except an empty tin trunk.
• confident Many people are confident that The Revealer may reveal something of value.
• reveal The Revealer may reveal something of value fairly soon.
• commodity Salt used to be one of the important commodities.
• facilitate Trade was facilitated by the mining of gold and silver.
• chiefly Clothes were made chiefly from hemp.
• dye They would dye their hair and would tattoo their bodies.
• inscription No inscription of the Thracian language has survived.
• unity They did not achieve a unity, and the result was that they were not left to themselves.

All lessons in this level

In other languages: Български