Virtuous English Academy
Past Simple, Past Continuous & Used to (B1)
- #B1
- #Grammar
- #Rules
- #Examples
This lesson sharpens your storytelling: the past simple for finished actions, the past continuous for the background, and used to for past habits that are no longer true. Together they let you narrate the past naturally.
B1 brings the past tense system together: past simple for completed events, past continuous for actions in progress, past perfect for what happened earlier still, and used to for habits that no longer exist. Choosing correctly between them is what allows you to tell a story with a clear sequence rather than a flat list.
Used to is the addition most learners find genuinely new. It describes a past habit or state that has now stopped: I used to smoke means you no longer do. It has no present form at all, and it exists only in the past, which makes it unusual among English structures.
Would can also express past habits, but with a restriction worth knowing: it works only for repeated actions, never for states. I would walk to school every day is fine, but I would live in Rome is wrong — for a past state you must use used to or the past simple.
How to form Past Tenses and Used To
| Form | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Past simple | completed action at a stated time | I moved to Berlin in 2019. |
| Past continuous | action in progress around a past moment | I was living in Berlin at the time. |
| Past perfect | action completed before another past action | I had lived there before I moved to Vienna. |
| used to + base verb | past habit or state, now finished | I used to live in Berlin. |
| would + base verb | repeated past action only, not states | We would meet every Friday. |
| Negative of used to | didn't use to (no d) | I didn't use to like coffee. |
Past Tenses and Used To: the key rules
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Narratives layer three tools: past simple for the chain of events, past continuous for the scene, used to for lost habits.
I used to live by the sea. One evening I was walking on the beach when I found a message in a bottle.
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Used to + base verb marks past habits and states that are no longer true.
She used to smoke. There used to be a cinema here.
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Negatives and questions drop the -d: didn't use to, Did you use to…?
I didn't use to like olives. Did you use to play an instrument?
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Would can replace used to for repeated actions — but not for states.
Every summer we would swim until sunset. (✓ action) — but only: We used to own a boat. (state)
When to use Past Tenses and Used To
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Contrasting past and present
Used to is the natural way to show that something has changed.
I used to work nights, but now I have normal hours.
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Ordering events in a narrative
The past perfect makes it clear which event happened first.
When I arrived, they had already left.
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Setting a scene before the action
The past continuous provides background that the past simple then interrupts.
It was raining hard when the power went out.
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Describing childhood and old routines
Used to and would together create a natural reminiscing tone.
We used to live by the sea. Every summer we would swim before breakfast.
used to vs. would
Both describe past habits, but only one of them works for states — and that restriction catches out most learners.
used to — actions and states
Works for everything: repeated actions and permanent past situations alike.
I used to play tennis. I used to have long hair. She used to be a teacher.
would — repeated actions only
Fine for things you did regularly, impossible for states of being or having.
I would play tennis every Sunday. But not: I would have long hair.
Past Tenses and Used To in example sentences
- I used to cycle everywhere before I got the car.A past habit that has stopped.
- She didn't use to enjoy classical music.Negative drops the -d: didn't use to.
- Did you use to live near here?Question form also drops the -d.
- We would spend every August at my grandmother's.would for a repeated past action.
- The train had already gone when we arrived.Past perfect for the earlier of two past events.
- I was reading when the phone rang.Continuous background, simple interruption.
- He used to be much quieter.used to with a state — would is impossible here.
- I'm used to getting up early now.A different structure entirely — be used to + -ing means accustomed.
Past Tenses and Used To in a real conversation
Notice where the past perfect signals that one event came before another.
Ana:Did you use to work in publishing?
Karl:For years. I used to edit travel guides.
Ana:Why did you leave?
Karl:The company had already closed two offices before they made me redundant.
Ana:That sounds difficult.
Karl:It was. But I'm used to freelancing now, and I wouldn't go back.
Common mistakes (and how to fix them)
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I use to play football when I was young.
I used to play football when I was young.
The affirmative needs the -d; use to alone only survives after did/didn't.
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We would have a small house in the mountains.
We used to have a small house in the mountains.
Would for past habits works only with actions — states like have require used to.
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When I entered, they discussed my project.
When I entered, they were discussing my project.
The discussion was already in progress at the moment of entry — that background needs the continuous.
Practise Past Tenses and Used To today
The used to family is where the marks are — practise all three of its forms.
- Write six sentences contrasting your life five years ago with now, using used to.
- Write three negatives and three questions with didn't use to and Did you use to.
- Rewrite three used to sentences with would, and mark the one that does not work.
- Write a four-sentence story that uses the past perfect at least twice.
Past Tenses and Used To: frequently asked questions
Why is it didn't use to and not didn't used to?
Because did already carries the past tense, so the main verb returns to its base form — exactly as with any other verb. The base form is use to, without the -d. You will see didn't used to written frequently, including by native speakers, because the two are pronounced identically. In exams and formal writing, didn't use to is the correct form.
What is the difference between used to and be used to?
They are completely different structures despite looking similar. Used to + base verb describes a finished past habit: I used to drive to work. Be used to + noun or -ing means accustomed to, and it describes a present state: I'm used to driving on the left. The second can appear in any tense — I'm getting used to it, She wasn't used to the cold — while the first exists only in the past.
When do I actually need the past perfect?
Only when the order of two past events would otherwise be unclear or when you want to stress that one preceded the other. If a sequence is already obvious from the order of the clauses or from words like first, then and after, the past simple is perfectly acceptable. Overusing the past perfect makes writing heavy, which is why native speakers use it more sparingly than textbooks suggest.
Can I use would for past states?
No, and this is the main restriction to remember. Would works only for repeated actions: We would go swimming every morning. For past states — being, having, knowing, living, liking — you need used to or the past simple: She used to have a motorbike, never She would have a motorbike in that meaning. When in doubt, used to is always safe.