Students at B2 level and above are expected to understand and use the word would to talk about past habits. English speakers use this option a lot, especially in spoken language. The thing is, I very rarely hear my students using would in this way so I've been asking them why they think this is.
Do you have any ideas why past habit would is difficult to use? Think first, then read further.
Other meanings
Would, which is the past tense of will, is frequently used to be polite or to talk about the future. Students start by learning expressions such as ‘I would like’ and move on to the hypothetical uses of would. Only later do they learn about would being used to refer to past habits. In general, students like it when words have one meaning. Using words, such as would, in lots of different ways can be quite confusing.
The contracted form
Learners may not actually notice past habit would being used. Although English speakers use this structure a lot, especially in spoken language, the word would is often contracted to just the final d.
Example
He’d often stay late after school to do his homework
This contracted form can be difficult for people to hear. In addition, even when students do hear it, they may not be clear whether the contracted d is short for had or would.
She’d done it = she had done it
She’d do it = she would do it
First language influence
Another reason that learners may find it difficult to incorporate past habit would into their active vocabulary is because there isn't an equivalent structure in the first language. If the past simple tense is used to talk about past habits in a speaker's first language, that speaker may prefer to use past simple in English
If it's optional why should I use it?
This is a good question. Learners don't have to use would to talk about past habits. Instead past simple or used to can be used. However using would will impress an examiner (and your teacher) if it is used correctly. Moreover, if you want to talk about a lot of past habits, the contracted form of would will make you sound really fluent.
Want to read more about past habit would? Click on the link to the blog post where you'll find some extra tips and a link to a newspaper article where you can see how it is used authentically.
