[F-E] Used to / Would

LET'S READ! 📖

Direction: Read the short passages then answer the questions being asked.

figurine

The Ancient Greeks used to think that they were ill because of bad magic, or because the gods were unhappy with them. So sick people often used to sleep in temples. The Greeks didn't use to take medicine and they didn't use to go to the doctor. The first doctors' used to be witches or people with magic powers. Some people used to eat flowers and herbs when they were ill but this didn't use to help everyone. Hippocrates, born about 460 BC on the island of Kos, made medicine into a serious science. He is often called the 'Father of Medicine'.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Where did sick people use to sleep?

2. Who used to be the first 'doctors' of the Greeks?

3. What did some people use to eat when they were ill?

LET'S UNDERSTAND! 📚

Used to and Would

1. Both used to and would can be used to talk about past habits or repeated past actions that don't happen anymore.

Example:

The Ancient Greeks used to think that they were ill because of bad magic.
The Ancient Greeks would think that they were ill because of bad magic.

2. We only use used to to talk about past states that are not true anymore. The common state verbs are: be, have, like, love, hate, live, know, own, want, believe.

Example:

The first 'doctors' used to be witches. (CORRECT)
The first 'doctors' would be witches. (WRONG)

3. Use the past simple, not used to, when talking about single activities, how long they took or how many times they happened.

Example:

I went to the doctor yesterday. NOT ~~I used to go...~~
We didn't eat for two days. NOT ~~We didn't use to eat...~~
Jane visited me in the hospital twice NOT ~~Jane used to visit me...~~

4. Used to + base form of the verb. Used to has no present or continuous forms.

Example:

Sick people often used to sleep in temples.

5. Make questions with Did + noun / pronoun + use to...?

Example:

Did doctors use to study medicine?
Did you use to eat a lot of sweets when you were young?

6. Make the negative with did not (didn't) use to or never used to.

Example:

They didn't use to take medicine.
Operations never used to be easy.

LET'S PRACTICE! 📝

Direction: Imagine that you're one of the children in the photo. Make a story based on the old photo shown. Make at least five sentences using "used to" and "would".

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Example:

I and my sister used to participate in egg hunting on Easter Sunday. We would gather at my parents farm and look for easter eggs that my parents hid on the ground. We used to be very excited for Easter because we would get to play with our cousins and friends.

Now, it's your turn.

YOUR TURN Photo