Katia Zhivaikina
'Would' in the past tense

Sometimes I hear that Americans use 'would' when they're telling the story and they use 'would' to tell about the fact which happened in the past, not just about the events that would happen, but didn't. How to use 'would' correctly when telling the story?

May 27, 2015 5:26 AM
Comments · 13
4

Good observation! "Would" can be used as a synonym of "used to" to refer to habitual *actions* in the past. Note that it cannot be used to refer to *states* in the past, only actions. Also, we cannot start your narration using "would;" we must start using past tenses and other cues to indicate that we are referring to the past before using "would." usually, an adverb of frequency is employed, such as "always, never, usually, occasionally, etc.

May 27, 2015
2

American English Example Story/Usage:

 

When I was 14, my parents bought me a Nintendo Entertainment System for Christmas. I loved the thing so much. It consumed so much of my time. In fact, every day after school, I WOULD (=used to) go directly to my bedroom and spend hours playing games like Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, Metroid, Kirby, Willow, etc. My addiction to the NES eventually got so bad that my parents WOULD (=used to) yell at me nearly every day, especially if it was obvious that I had been on the thing in excess of four hours. I remember once that I stayed up for two days straight trying to beat Super Mario Brothers 2. Wart needed to be defeated!!!! In my eyes, it was the ultimate challenge. My parents thought differently though. Man, they were so mad at me. They went on and on about how I needed to get enough sleep to function the next day. I just rolled my eyes and continued playing and when the TV screen started flashing red, I WOULD (=used to) do what every other hardcore NES gamer WOULD (=used to) do. I WOULD (=used to) blow on the damn cartridge and carry on!

May 27, 2015
2

Hi Ekaterina,

 

"I would go to school in my boyhood days" indicates a repeated action in the past tense. You can compare it to "used to" in that context: "I used to go to school my boyhood days".

 

In the other two examples "would" is the past tense of "will" but in an imaginary, fictitious situation.

May 27, 2015
1

I'm trying to open this door but it won't open.

I was trying to open that door but it wouldn't open.

 

 

 

 

October 8, 2015
1

Just a couple of things to add about this use of 'would'  ..

 

-  as the other members have said, this is only for repeated habits and actions, not for states. For example, you can say 'I would spend hours walking in the woods when I was a teenager' instead of 'I used to spend hours walking in the woods when I was a teenager' . But you <em>cannot</em> use a 'would' sentence as an alternative to 'I used to have long hair when I was a teenager'.

 

- the 'would' construction is more formal and much rarer than the 'used to' construction. It can often sound unnatural, especially in spoken English. If in doubt, use 'used to'.

 

- it isn't only used by Americans! It's standard English.

October 8, 2015
Show more