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TN2B08 - would for repeated actions (azar blue)
 
 
REFERENCE: 10-7 USING WOULD TO EXPRESS A REPEATED ACTION IN THE PAST
  1. When I was a child, my father would read me a story at night before bedtime.
  2. When I was a child, my father used to read me a story at night before bedtime.
 Would can be used to express an action that was repeated regularly in the past. When would is used to express this idea, it has the same meaning as used to (habitual past). (1) and (2) have the same meaning.
  1. I used to live in California.
    He used to be a Boy Scout.
    They used to have a Ford.
 Used to expresses an habitual situation that existed in the past (note the stative verbs) as in (1). In this case, would may not be used as an alternative. Would is used only for regularly repeated actions in the past.
 
 
24.
 
In these sentences, use would whenever possible to express a repeated action in the past. Otherwise, use used to.
 
 

 0. 
I (0)  a boy scout. Every summer we (00)  to the woods.
 

 a. 
I (1) very shy. Whenever a stranger came to our house, I (2) in a closet.
 

 b. 
I remember my Aunt Susan very well. Every time she came to our house, she (3) me a big kiss and pinch my cheek.
 

 c. 
Illiteracy is still a problem in my country, but it (4) used to be much worse.
 

 d. 
I (5) afraid of flying. My heart (6) pounding every time I stepped on a plane. But now I'm used to flying and enjoy it.
 

 e. 
I (7) an anthropology major. Once I was a member of an archaeological expedition.
Every morning, we (8) before dawn. After breakfast, we (9) our entire day in the field. Sometimes one of us (10) a particularly interesting item, perhaps an arrowhead or a piece of pottery. When that happened, other members of the group (11) around to see what had been unearthed.
 

 f. 
I got a new bicycle when I was ten. My friends (12) to ride it, but for a long time I (13) anyone else use it.
 

 g. 
When my grandfather was a boy and had a cold, his mother (14) him go to bed. Then she (15) goose fat on his chest.
 

 h. 
Last summer, my sister and I took a camping trip in the Rocky Mountains. It was a wonderful experience.
Every morning, we (16) to the sound of singing birds. During the day, we (17) through woods and along mountain streams. Often we (18) deer. On one occasion we saw a bear and quickly ran in the opposite direction.
 

 i. 
When I was a child, I (19) a flashlight to bed with me so that I could read comic books without my parents' knowing about it.
 

 j. 
I remember Mrs. Sawyer's fifth grade class well. When we arrived each morning, she (20) at her desk.
She (21) hello to each student as he or she entered. When the bell rang, she (22) and (23) her throat. That was our signal to be quiet. Class was about to begin.
 



 
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