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'Use to' versus 'Would'

Dionysus · 2009-07-13 17:30:39

I'm beating a bit of the Béarla into the chislers for the summer and they put a question to me today: why is it correct to say 'would' when talking about things in the continuous past tense rather than in the conditional? For instance, 'When we were young our uncle would visit us every week'. That sounds fine to my…

13-07-2009 06:30PM

#1

Dionysus

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I'm beating a bit of the Béarla into the chislers for the summer and they put a question to me today: why is it correct to say 'would' when talking about things in the continuous past tense rather than in the conditional?

For instance, 'When we were young our uncle would visit us every week'. That sounds fine to my Hiberno-English ear, but how do I explain it to them?

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#2 14-07-2009 03:35PM

Dionysus

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Hi Dionysus, here's your answer:

http://sjenglishclub.blogspot.com/2009/05/used-to-use-vs-would.html

Thanks, lads. I'd be lost without you!

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#3 01-08-2009 06:11PM

loobylou

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Delighted to be of help!:D

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