Use of would – Exercise 287
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We use would as an analogue of used to, when we speak about some regular actions and habits in the past.
Examples
When I was younger, I would drink five cups of coffee a day. (= I used to drink...)
Do you remember? When we were kids, we would run through the field, climb the hill and hide under the big oak tree. (= we used to run...)
Pay attention!
In the examples above, we can either say "would" or "used to". But we can't use "would" when we talk about states in the past and not physical actions.
For example
When Fred was a student, he used to have a beard. we can't say ... would have a beard, because it isn't a regular action
When we were children, we used to live in the countryside. we can't say ... would live, because it isn't a regular action