Home Grammar Used To ExercisesUsed To or Would? Would First, Past Simple Last: Multiple Choice

Used To or Would? Would First, Past Simple Last: Multiple Choice

B1 Level

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When I was little, my dad blank us pancakes on Sunday mornings. Now he makes them for my children.

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All 20 questions

Use would if it fits; if not, used to; use the past simple only when neither fits. Read each situation, then choose the answer that completes the sentence or dialogue. Your first choice counts.

When I was little, my dad _____ us pancakes on Sunday mornings. Now he makes them for my children.
When I opened the envelope and saw my exam results, I _____ so happy. I still have that letter.
As teenagers, my sister and I _____ on the phone every evening until Mum told us to stop. Now we just send voice notes.
My grandparents _____ a small farm in Wales. We spent every Christmas there until they sold it in 1998.
When Mum was at university, she _____ a bright yellow scooter. She rode it to all her lectures.
When I was at school, I _____ about the summer holidays every time I looked out of the classroom window.
Every summer when we were kids, we _____ breakfast in the garden.
The tickets sold out before we reached the front of the queue, so we _____ the band play.
When I was twelve, I _____ my arm twice in the same summer.
When I was four, I _____ that the moon was made of cheese. My brother still teases me about it every time there's a full moon.
When I was a child, I _____ sick every time we went on a long car journey.
When we lived by the sea, the seagulls _____ us up at five every morning. Now we live in the city, and I almost miss them!
After university, Jamal _____ in Tokyo for two years. Now he teaches Japanese in Leeds.
Aunt Rosa _____ the London Marathon three times before she turned fifty.
Before he moved to Norway, Tomasz _____ cold weather. Now he goes skiing every weekend!
The lights suddenly went out in the middle of the film, and everyone in the cinema _____.
Before we moved to Bristol, our family _____ in a tiny flat above a bakery. I still think of it every time I smell fresh bread.
In the 1990s, my grandparents _____ to Spain twice a year. Now they just go to the seaside.
I _____ olives as a child. I only started eating them at university.
A: _____ many people in the village when you were young? B: Everyone! It was tiny, and we all saw each other at the market every Saturday.

Grammar review

Follow the rule in order. Would fits a repeated past action once the time is clear: On Fridays, our neighbour would practise the trumpet. Would can't describe states such as wanting, belonging or understanding, so use used to. Use the past simple only when neither fits: one event or a total number of times: We visited Rome four times.