【B1-B2-Grammar】17 Past habits-'used to', 'would' and the past simple-过去的习惯：“used to”、“would”和简单过去时

【B1-B2-Grammar】17 Past habits-‘used to’, ‘would’ and the past simple-过去的习惯：“used to”、“would”和简单过去时

Do you know how to talk about past habits using used to, would and the past simple? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you. 你知道如何用used to、would和一般过去时来谈论过去的习惯吗？通过互动练习测试您所掌握的知识，并阅读说明来帮助您。

Look at these examples to see how used to, would and the past simple are used.查看这些示例，了解如何使用used to、would 和一般过去时。

They used to live in London. 他们曾经住在伦敦。
I didn’t use to like olives. 我以前不喜欢橄榄。
We would always go to the seaside for our holidays. 我们总是去海边度假。
But one holiday we went to the mountains instead. 但有一次假期我们去了山里。

Try this exercise to test your grammar.尝试这个练习来测试你的语法。

Grammar test 1-语法测试1

Past habits: 1

Choose the correct option to complete the sentence.

• Question

1. When I was young we ___ in a big house in the countryside.
   would live
   used to live
2. On summer mornings my brother and I ___ while everyone else was asleep.
   used to go fishing
   have fished
3. We ___ breakfast and then go quietly out of the house to the river.
   would have
   had
4. We ___ hours fishing in a small boat belonging to my grandmother.
   would spend
   didn’t use to spend
5. My brother ___ the names of all the different types of fish that were in the river.
   would know
   used to know
6. We would often fall asleep in the boat and our father ___ to find us.
   would come
   was coming
7. But Dad ___ angry because he had done the same when he was a kid.
   wouldn’t get
   didn’t use to get
8. Once I ___ an enormous fish. I was so happy!
   used to catch
   caught

• Answer

1. When I was young we ___ in a big house in the countryside.
   would live
   ✔used to live
2. On summer mornings my brother and I ___ while everyone else was asleep.
   ✔used to go fishing
   have fished
3. We ___ breakfast and then go quietly out of the house to the river.
   ✔would have
   had
4. We ___ hours fishing in a small boat belonging to my grandmother.
   ✔would spend
   didn’t use to spend
5. My brother ___ the names of all the different types of fish that were in the river.
   would know
   ✔used to know
6. We would often fall asleep in the boat and our father ___ to find us.
   ✔would come
   was coming
7. But Dad ___ angry because he had done the same when he was a kid.
   wouldn’t get
   ✔didn’t use to get
8. Once I ___ an enormous fish. I was so happy!
   used to catch
   ✔caught

1. When I was young we used to live in a big house in the countryside.
   解释: “used to live” 表示过去的习惯或状态，与现在不同。”would live” 一般用于描述过去习惯的动作，但在这里不合适，因为它用于表示具体的行为而不是状态。
2. On summer mornings my brother and I used to go fishing while everyone else was asleep.
   解释: “used to go fishing” 表示过去的习惯性动作。”have fished” 是现在完成时，不适合描述过去的习惯。
3. We would have breakfast and then go quietly out of the house to the river.
   解释: “would have” 表示过去习惯性的动作，适合描述每天早上的行为。”had” 虽然也是过去时，但在这里不强调习惯性。
4. We would spend hours fishing in a small boat belonging to my grandmother.
   解释: “would spend” 表示过去的习惯性动作，适合描述在船上钓鱼的情景。”didn’t use to spend” 表示否定的习惯，不符合句意。
5. My brother used to know the names of all the different types of fish that were in the river.
   解释: “used to know” 表示过去的习惯性知识，与现在不同。”would know” 一般用在假设句中，这里不合适。
6. We would often fall asleep in the boat and our father would come to find us.
   解释: “would come” 表示过去的习惯性动作，适合描述父亲找他们的情景。”was coming” 虽然是过去进行时，但不强调习惯性。
7. But Dad wouldn’t get angry because he had done the same when he was a kid.
   解释: “wouldn’t get” 表示过去习惯性的不生气，适合描述父亲的反应。”didn’t use to get” 虽然也表示过去的习惯，但一般用在过去某一段时间，而不是单次事件。
8. Once I caught an enormous fish. I was so happy!
   解释: “caught” 是过去简单时，表示在过去某个具体的时间点抓到鱼。”used to catch” 表示过去习惯性动作，但不适用于一次性的事件。

Grammar explanation-语法解释

When we talk about things in the past that are not true any more, we can do it in different ways.当我们谈论过去不再真实的事情时，我们可以用不同的方式来做。

Used to + infinitive-Used to+不定式

We can use used to to talk about past states that are not true any more.我们可以用used to来谈论过去不再真实的状态。

We used to live in New York when I was a kid. 我小时候我们住在纽约。
There didn’t use to be a supermarket there. When did it open? 那里以前没有超市。什么时候开的？
Did you use to have a garden? 你以前有花园吗？

We can also use used to to talk about past habits (repeated past actions) that don’t happen any more.我们还可以使用used to来谈论过去不再发生的习惯（重复过去的行为）。

I used to go swimming every Thursday when I was at school. 我上学时每周四都去游泳。
She used to smoke but she gave up a few years ago. 她曾经抽烟，但几年前戒掉了。

used to + infinitive should not be confused with be/get used to + -ing, which has a different meaning. used to + 不定式不应与 be/get used to + -ing 混淆，后者具有不同的含义。

Would-会

We can use would to talk about repeated past actions that don’t happen any more. 我们可以用 will 来谈论过去重复但不再发生的动作。

Every Saturday I would go on a long bike ride. 每个星期六我都会去骑长途自行车。
My dad would read me amazing stories every night at bedtime. 我爸爸每天晚上睡觉前都会给我读一些精彩的故事。

would for past habits is slightly more formal than used to. It is often used in stories. We don’t normally use the negative or question form of would for past habits. Note that we can’t usually use would to talk about past states. would表示过去的习惯，比used to稍微正式一些。常用于故事中。我们通常不会用 would 的否定形式或疑问形式来表示过去的习惯。请注意，我们通常不能使用 would 来谈论过去的状态。

Past simple-一般过去时

We can always use the past simple as an alternative to used to or would to talk about past states or habits. The main difference is that the past simple doesn’t emphasise the repeated or continuous nature of the action or situation. Also, the past simple doesn’t make it so clear that the thing is no longer true.我们总是可以用一般过去时来代替used to或would来谈论过去的状态或习惯。主要区别在于，简单过去时并不强调动作或情况的重复或连续性。而且，一般过去时并不能清楚地表明这件事不再是真的。

We went to the same beach every summer. 每年夏天我们都去同一个海滩。
We used to go to the same beach every summer. 我们每年夏天都会去同一个海滩。
We would go to the same beach every summer. 每年夏天我们都会去同一个海滩。

If something happened only once, we must use the past simple.如果某件事只发生过一次，我们必须使用一般过去时。

I went to Egypt in 2014. 2014 年我去了埃及。

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.做这个练习来再次测试你的语法。

Grammar test 2-语法测试2

Past habits: 2

Choose the correct option to complete the sentence.

• Question

1. I ___ a really sporty person.
   would be
   used to be
2. In my first year at university, I ___ for an hour every morning before breakfast.
   have run
   would run
3. Then I ___ the university boxing team and I really started to train hard.
   joined
   used to join
4. During that time, I ___ to spend at least two hours in the gym every day.
   would like
   used to like
5. When I started my training, I ___ my diet completely.
   would change
   changed
6. I ___ three eggs with toast and fruit for breakfast.
   have had
   used to have
7. I ___ sugar in my tea because it wasn’t on my diet plan.
   didn’t use to have
   wouldn’t have
8. But then I ___ my arm and that was the end of my boxing career!
   would break
   broke

• Answer

1. I ___ a really sporty person.
   would be
   ✔used to be
2. In my first year at university, I ___ for an hour every morning before breakfast.
   have run
   ✔would run
3. Then I ___ the university boxing team and I really started to train hard.
   ✔joined
   used to join
4. During that time, I ___ to spend at least two hours in the gym every day.
   would like
   ✔used to like
5. When I started my training, I ___ my diet completely.
   would change
   ✔changed
6. I ___ three eggs with toast and fruit for breakfast.
   have had
   ✔used to have
7. I ___ sugar in my tea because it wasn’t on my diet plan.
   ✔didn’t use to have
   wouldn’t have
8. But then I ___ my arm and that was the end of my boxing career!
   would break
   ✔broke

1. I used to be a really sporty person.
   解释: “used to be” 表示过去的习惯或状态，与现在不同。而 “would be” 通常用于假设或意愿的表达，不适合这里的语境。
2. In my first year at university, I would run for an hour every morning before breakfast.
   解释: “would run” 表示过去的习惯性动作，常常用在讲述过去的日常活动时。”have run” 是现在完成时，不适合描述过去的习惯。
3. Then I joined the university boxing team and I really started to train hard.
   解释: “joined” 是一个过去简单时的动词，表示在过去某个具体的时间点加入了拳击队。”used to join” 结构不合适，因为 “used to” 表示过去习惯，而加入拳击队是一个具体事件。
4. During that time, I used to spend at least two hours in the gym every day.
   解释: “used to” 适合表示过去的习惯性动作。”would like” 表示过去的意愿，但在这里不合适。
5. When I started my training, I changed my diet completely.
   解释: “changed” 是一个过去简单时的动词，表示在过去某个具体的时间点改变了饮食习惯。”would change” 更适合假设句或表示重复的过去动作，但在这里不合适。
6. I used to have three eggs with toast and fruit for breakfast.
   解释: “used to have” 表示过去的习惯性动作。”have had” 是现在完成时，不适合描述过去的习惯。
7. I didn’t use to have sugar in my tea because it wasn’t on my diet plan.
   解释: “didn’t use to have” 表示过去习惯于没有糖。”wouldn’t have” 虽然也可以表示习惯，但通常用在假设句中，这里不太合适。
8. But then I broke my arm and that was the end of my boxing career!
   解释: “broke” 是一个过去简单时的动词，表示在过去某个具体的时间点发生的事件。”would break” 用在假设句中，不适合这里的语境。