Habitual actions in the past
To describe habitual, repeated actions in the past, one generally uses the construction “used to + verb.” Thus:
- When I was little, we used to go camping a lot.
- When my father was in school, they used to slap children who didn’t behave.
- I used to work days, but now I work the night shift.
In spoken English, one often uses the common construction with the modal “would,” followed by the main
verb:
- When we were kids, we would haze each other quite a bit.
- When I was little, we would go camping a lot.
- When my father was in school, they would slap children who didn’t behave.
See also: