• How it works (cómo funciona)
• Limitations of would (limitaciones de would)
• Contraction and negative (contracción y negativo)
• Summary table: three ways to talk about the habitual past in English (cuadro resumen)

How it works (cómo funciona)

In addition to used to, we can use would [wʊd] to talk about habitual actions in the past. In Spanish it is equivalent to the pretérito imperfecto or to solía + infinitivo.

🔹 Además de used to, podemos usar would [wʊd] para hablar de acciones habituales en el pasado. En español equivale al pretérito imperfecto o a solía + infinitivo.

When I was a kid, I would always play in the park.
(Cuando era niño, siempre jugaba en el parque).

My grandmother would always cook paella on Sundays.
(Mi abuela siempre cocinaba paella los domingos).

Limitations of would (limitaciones de would)

Would is only used for repeated actions, not for states. With verbs like be, have, live, know, like, we use used to and not would:

🔹 Would solamente se usa para acciones repetidas, no para estados. Con verbos como be, have, live, know, like, usaremos used to y no would:

I used to live in Madrid. (Antes vivía en Madrid).

We cannot say: I would live in Madrid.

I used to have a dog. (Antes tenía un perro).

We cannot say: I would have a dog.

Contraction and negative (contracción y negativo)

would not => wouldn't ['wʊdənt]

She wouldn't eat vegetables when she was a kid. (Ella no comía verduras cuando era niña).

Summary table: three ways to talk about the habitual past in English (cuadro resumen)

used to + infinitive => habits and states in the past (the most common)

would + infinitive => only habits (actions), not states

past simple => habits and one-time actions