Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Username

gartlan_s

Member Since

September 17, 2004

Total number of comments

1

Total number of votes received

0

Bio

Latest Comments

Would vs. Used To

  • September 17, 2004, 2:39am

Used to means that you (or she) don't (or doeasn't ) anymore, and often implies some feeling of regret when used in the first person (i wish were still playing piano), with apropriate tone.

'Would' in "when she was younger, she would play piano at church", is used to describe something that was a regular occurance, and further frequency (or lack there of) could be emphasied with "sometimes" or "often". Basically, you're making a general statement about the past.