This focused English grammar guide for Moroccan Tronc Commun students clarifies the contrast between ‘Used to’ and ‘Would’ for expressing past habits, routines, and repeated actions, emphasizing the crucial distinction between action verbs and stative verbs, complete with exam sentence rewriting exercises and answer keys.
💡 Direct Grammar Summary : Used to vs Would
- Used to + Bare Infinitive : Expresses past habits, repeated actions, OR past states/situations that are no longer true today (e.g., ‘I used to live in Fez’, ‘He used to play football’).
- Negative and Question forms : Negative :
didn't use to(without ‘d’ : ‘I didn’t use to like tea’) ; Question :Did you use to ... ?. - Would + Bare Infinitive : Expresses ONLY repeated past actions/habits in narrative contexts (e.g., ‘Every summer, we would swim in the river’).
- Crucial Distinction (Stative Verbs) : You CANNOT use would with stative verbs (be, have, live, know, like, love). Use exclusively used to (*He would be shy* ❌ $\implies$ *He used to be shy* ✅).
1. Methodological Steps to Avoid Common Test Mistakes
- Spot stative verbs instantly : Whenever you see be, live, own, believe, have, automatically eliminate ‘would’ and select ‘used to’.
- Do not confuse with ‘Be used to + -ing’ : Used to + base verb refers to past habit ; Be used to + V-ing means ‘accustomed to’ in the present (‘I am used to waking up early’).
- Check present contrast : Ensure the action is completed in the past and does not continue today.
2. Documents et exercices à télécharger (PDF)
Consultez et téléchargez les ressources pédagogiques officielles ci-dessous :
| Titre du document | Nature de la ressource | Accès |
|---|---|---|
| Lesson PDF | Document PDF | Télécharger PDF |
| Exercises PDF | Document PDF | Télécharger PDF |
| Answer Key PDF | Document PDF | Télécharger PDF |
3. Questions fréquentes des élèves (FAQ)
Q : Can we use ‘would’ in the negative form to express past habits?
No, ‘wouldn’t’ is normally not used to express past habits; stick to ‘didn’t use to’ for past negative routines.
Télécharger la ressource
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