USED TO = past habits that no longer happen: habits AND states. "I used to live in Madrid" (action). "I used to be shy" (state). WOULD = past repeated actions/habits only, NEVER states. "We would meet every Monday" (repeated action). "We would be close friends" = INCORRECT (state). When in doubt: USED TO always works. WOULD only when it is a repeated action, never a state.
USED TO + INFINITIVE: expresses past situations (habits OR states) that existed BEFORE and NO LONGER EXIST in the present. The implication is always "but no longer." PAST HABITS/ACTIONS: "She used to cycle to work" (she does not anymore). "The team used to meet on Fridays." PAST STATES (the only context where USED TO is the only option): "He used to be very introverted" (no longer). "We used to have an office in Berlin" (no longer). "The company used to belong to a larger group." NEGATIVE: "didn't use to" / "used not to" (formal). "She didn't use to travel this much." QUESTION: "Did you use to live here?" COMPARISON WITH SIMPLE PAST: "She used to cycle to work" implies contrast with the present. "She cycled to work" = past fact without implying contrast. "USED TO BE DOING" does not exist: "She used to be working there" = INCORRECT.
Before the company expanded its remote working policy, all employees used to be required to work from the central office five days a week, a practice that now seems quite rigid by current industry standards.
The organization used to have a much more hierarchical management structure, where decisions at every level required formal sign-off from at least two layers of senior management before they could be implemented.
She used to be one of the most cautious members of the investment committee, but her perspective has shifted considerably over the past two years as the portfolio has increasingly moved toward higher-growth opportunities.
WOULD + INFINITIVE (PAST HABIT): expresses past actions or behaviours that occurred regularly. Only for REPEATED ACTIONS, NEVER for states. "Every summer, we would rent a cottage by the lake." "The director would always open the meeting with a brief review." DIFFERENCE FROM USED TO: WOULD only for ACTIONS. "We would meet every week" = correct (action). "We would know each other well" = INCORRECT (state). "We used to know each other well" = correct. IMPORTANT RESTRICTION: WOULD for past habit is ONLY used when the past temporal context is already established (by prior mention or clear time markers). You cannot start a sentence with WOULD for past habit without context: "I would go to school near here" = AMBIGUOUS (sounds like conditional). "When I was young, I would go to school near here" = CLEAR (past habit). OTHER USES OF WOULD: (1) past habit (this context). (2) conditional ("I would help if I could"). (3) polite request ("Would you mind...?"). (4) future in the past ("He said he would call").
In the early days of the organization, the leadership team would gather every Monday morning in the founder's office to review the week's priorities and assign responsibilities before the rest of the staff arrived.
Whenever a major client relationship was at risk, the former managing director would personally travel to the client's headquarters to address concerns directly, a practice that consistently proved effective in de-escalating difficult situations.
During the first phase of the project, the engineering team would submit a detailed progress report at the end of each week, documenting both the milestones achieved and any obstacles that had affected the planned delivery timeline.
Common mistake
THE KEY ERROR: WOULD WITH STATES: "She would be my manager" = AMBIGUOUS or INCORRECT for past habit. STATE = always USED TO: "She used to be my manager." OTHER ERRORS: (1) USED TO IN THE PRESENT: "I use to go" = INCORRECT. USED TO only exists in the past. In the present: "I usually go" / "I tend to go." (2) WOULD WITHOUT TEMPORAL CONTEXT: "I would walk to school" = sounds like a conditional. "When I was young, I would walk to school" = clear past habit. (3) "USED TO DOING" (different structure): "I am used to working late" = being accustomed to doing something (present habit). "I used to work late" = I was in the habit of working late (past, no longer). Completely different structures. (4) "USE TO" in negative/question: "Did you USE TO live here?" (not "did you USED TO" — the auxiliary DID marks the past, so the verb returns to base form).
Trick to remember it
STATE vs ACTION TEST: Is it a STATE (be, have, know, like, belong, understand)? = USED TO (never would). Is it a REPEATED ACTION? = USED TO or WOULD (both possible). When in doubt: USED TO always works for both states and actions. WOULD only works for actions. If unsure = USED TO. TEMPORAL CONTEXT: WOULD for past habit needs an established temporal context. "When I was young... / In those days... / Every morning..." + WOULD. Without that context, WOULD can sound like a conditional.
Quick rule
USED TO = past habits AND states (both). WOULD = ONLY repeated past actions/habits (NEVER states like be, have, know, belong). "Used to be / used to have / used to know" = correct. "Would be / would have / would know" (for past habit) = INCORRECT. When in doubt: use USED TO, which always works.
Did you know?
The verb "used to" has had one of the most curious histories in the English language. Originally, "use" simply meant "to be accustomed to," and the form "used to" was a past participial construction. Over time, it solidified as a fixed unit that only works in the past — one of the few cases in English where there is NO equivalent present form ("I use to go" = INCORRECT in modern English). For the present, English needs to use "usually," "tend to," or "be in the habit of." This temporal rigidity of "used to" — which only exists in the past and always implies contrast with the present — makes it one of the most specifically time-oriented structures in the entire English verb system. WOULD for past habit, by contrast, is simply the same conditional/modal WOULD used in a different temporal context, which explains its ambiguity out of context.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
In the organization's early years, the founder _____ deeply involved in every operational decision, approving even minor procurement requests personally and attending all client-facing meetings regardless of their scale or strategic significance.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
Every quarter, during the years when the company was expanding rapidly across the region, the senior leadership team _____ to the regional offices to conduct performance reviews and engage directly with local management.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
USED TO = past habits AND states (both). WOULD = ONLY repeated past actions/habits (NEVER states like be, have, know, belong). "Used to be / used to have / used to know" = correct. "Would be / would have / would know" (for past habit) = INCORRECT. When in doubt: use USED TO, which always works.
THE KEY ERROR: WOULD WITH STATES: "She would be my manager" = AMBIGUOUS or INCORRECT for past habit. STATE = always USED TO: "She used to be my manager." OTHER ERRORS: (1) USED TO IN THE PRESENT: "I use to go" = INCORRECT. USED TO only exists in the past. In the present: "I usually go" / "I tend to go." (2) WOULD WITHOUT TEMPORAL CONTEXT: "I would walk to school" = sounds like a conditional. "When I was young, I would walk to school" = clear past habit. (3) "USED TO DOING" (different structure): "I am used to working late" = being accustomed to doing something (present habit). "I used to work late" = I was in the habit of working late (past, no longer). Completely different structures. (4) "USE TO" in negative/question: "Did you USE TO live here?" (not "did you USED TO" — the auxiliary DID marks the past, so the verb returns to base form).
STATE vs ACTION TEST: Is it a STATE (be, have, know, like, belong, understand)? = USED TO (never would). Is it a REPEATED ACTION? = USED TO or WOULD (both possible). When in doubt: USED TO always works for both states and actions. WOULD only works for actions. If unsure = USED TO. TEMPORAL CONTEXT: WOULD for past habit needs an established temporal context. "When I was young... / In those days... / Every morning..." + WOULD. Without that context, WOULD can sound like a conditional.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy