B2 grammar · teens and adults
Used to and would
Past habits and old states: I used to live in Lisbon. We would stay up all night. When both work, when only used to does, and the be used to trap.
Teens · AdultsCEFR B2 · Upper-intermediate
- Age
- Ages 14+
- Level
- B2
- Skill
- Grammar
- Format
- Teacher guide
The rule
- Used to + verb: a past habit or a past state that is no longer true. I used to smoke. She used to have long hair.
- Would + verb: repeated past actions only, often in nostalgic stories. Every summer we would go to the lake. Not for states: not She would have long hair.
- Would needs the past time frame to be clear first, so a story usually opens with used to and continues with would.
- Negative and question: didn't use to, Did you use to…? (no -d after did). Never used to is common too: I never used to eat fish.
- Be / get used to + -ing means “be accustomed to” and works in any tense: I'm used to working nights. It is a different structure.
Form
| Use | Form |
|---|---|
| Positive | used to + verb · would ('d) + verb |
| Negative | didn't use to + verb · never used to + verb |
| Question | Did you use to + verb? |
| Not the same | be / get used to + verb-ing = be accustomed to |
Example sentences
Tap a sentence to hear it. The translation follows each one.
Quick check: choose the right form
Five sentences from this page, each with one gap. Choose the form that fits; when it is right, you hear the whole sentence.
I blank to live in Lisbon.
Every Sunday my grandad would blank for the whole family.
This building used to blank a cinema.
People used to blank letters instead of texts.
I'm used to blank at night now.
Common mistakes
What learners actually say, why, and which first language makes it typical.
I would have long hair when I was a student.I used to have long hair when I was a student.
Having long hair is a state, not a repeated action. Would only works for repeated actions; states take used to.
Typical for Russian and Spanish speakers
I am used to get up early.I am used to getting up early.
In be used to, to is a preposition, so the verb after it takes -ing. Russian «привык вставать» and Spanish «acostumbrado a levantarme» have an infinitive, which is why the bare verb slips in.
Typical for Spanish speakers
I use to go to the gym on Mondays.I usually go to the gym on Mondays.
Spanish «suelo ir» works in the present, but used to is past only. For a present habit, use usually or just the present simple.
How to teach it
- Bring a photo of yourself from fifteen years ago. Learners guess: You used to have a beard! You used to wear glasses! Then they do it with their own old photos.
- Then and now: two columns on the board for technology, travel and work. People used to… / Now they… Teens bring phones and games; adults bring offices and money.
- Introduce would last, inside a nostalgic story: When I was a kid, every summer we would… Learners continue the story with would, and you correct only the states.
- Keep be used to for a separate lesson or a clearly labelled contrast. Mixing them on day one is the main source of “I am used to get up”.
Questions teachers ask
Why is this page B2 if used to is taught earlier?
Used to on its own is A2–B1 and is on the Cambridge B1 Preliminary list. The page is B2 because of what it adds: would for past habits, the states-versus-actions contrast, and be / get used to + -ing.
Why is would harder than used to?
Because it has conditions: repeated actions only, never states, and the past time must already be set. Learners who control used to first rarely misuse would.
Is “didn't used to” wrong?
Didn't use to is the standard form and the one exams expect. Didn't used to does appear in informal writing, but teach use after did.
Related resources
Presentation
Used To and Would Presentation (Free PPT)
Used To and Would presentation (B2) for teens and adults: the rule, a form table, 10 examples and practice with answers. Free PPTX and PDF.
Worksheet
Used to and would — worksheet
Put the verb in the right form, build the sentence, choose the correct one — answers at the bottom.
Lesson Plan
Reported speech
Passing on what someone said or asked: She said she was tired. He asked where I lived. Backshift, pronoun changes and the word order of reported questions.
Lesson Plan
Must, might and can't (deduction)
Guessing from evidence: She must be at work. He might be stuck in traffic. That can't be right. How sure you are, in one small word, now and in the past.