Level: Intermediate and Up
Pair with the Song: “Another Day of Sun” (from the movie La La Land, 2016)
Recommended Videos: the audio-only video or the movie clip from the movie La La Land. Please see the Lesson Plan for links to more videos–there are many excellent performances from all over the world.

In this song, the singer imagines that she becomes a famous Hollywood actress and that her boyfriend from her hometown will see her face in a movie and “think of how he used to know me.” Earlier in the song, she says that on summer nights, she and her boyfriend would go to a movie theater and “We’d sink into our seats.” Explain that we’d is a contraction for we would. Would is used to describe actions done repeatedly and regularly in the past. What is the difference between used to and would? Used to + the simple form of a verb is used to emphasize that the activity was done in the past but is not done anymore. Would + the simple form of a verb is used to emphasize that the action was done repeatedly and often. The straightforward exercise below gives students practice with used to and would. Permission granted to duplicate for classroom use.

used to vs. would.docx          used to vs. would.pdf          used to vs. would (webpage)

Preview:

Used to vs. Would

A. Read the two sentences under the photo. They both describe past situations and actions.

1. There used to be a candy store on that corner. There’s a restaurant there now.
2. When I was a kid, I would go to the candy store after school and buy a small bag of candy. I would usually eat it all before I got home.

Used to and would have similar meanings. Use used to + the simple form of a verb to talk about a past situation that no longer exists. Use would + the simple form of a
verb to talk about a past action that was done repeatedly.

B. Read each sentence below. Is it about a past situation that no longer exists? Or is it about a past action that was done many times? Write used to or would on the line.

1. Maya ___________________ live in Miami, and her sister ___________________ live in London. Now they both live in Brussels.
2. I had two friends who wanted to be songwriters. Every time they wrote a new song, they ___________________ sing it for me. Then they ___________________ ask me for my opinion.
3. When I was a child, I ___________________ hate tomatoes. I ___________________ hate mushrooms, too. Now I like them both.
4. Irma ___________________ work the night shift, but now she works 9 AM to 4 PM.
5. We ___________________ have a dog named Fida. She died when she was 14—a long life
for a German Shepherd.
6. When Maya lived in Florida, she ___________________ go to the beach every Saturday. She ___________________ pack a lunch, and sometimes she ___________________ stay the whole day. She ___________________ read on the beach and take walks along the ocean.
7. When I had a dog, I ___________________ take her for long walks almost every day.
Sometimes we ___________________ walk for an hour or more.
8. Alex ___________________ study French. Now he’s thinking about living in Mexico for a
year, so he’s studying Spanish instead.
9. Irma worked the night shift for years. She ___________________ start working at 11 PM. At 7 AM she ___________________ go home and get her kids ready for school. Then she ___________________ sleep until 2 PM.
10. I ___________________ have two friends who wanted to be songwriters. I’m not sure where they are now. Someone told me they’re in Hollywood, writing music for movies.
11. When I was a child, I hated tomatoes and mushrooms. Whenever my mother made a dish with tomatoes or mushrooms in it, I ___________________ pick them out and push them to the side of my plate.
12. When Alex studied French, he had a good system for learning new words. He ___________________ write each new word on a small card. Then, on the back of the card, he ___________________ write the word in his language. He ___________________ also write a sentence using the new word. He had more than a thousand cards.

Copyright © 2017 Sandra Heyer. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.
Photo: © Sheli Jensen | Dreamstime. Reprinted with permission.