Questions tagged [past-habitual]
The past-habitual tag has no usage guidance.
0
votes
1answer
32 views
What tense do I use for different actions in the past for dead people?
I want to refer to 2 kids and draw some parallelisms. John is alive now. Mark is dead.
John lives in New York. "Mark LIVED in New York" or "Mark USED TO LIVE in New York".
John likes to play soccer....
8
votes
5answers
533 views
Is it a case of a sloppy conditional, a rare past habitual, or…? “Sometimes he would have come back”
I was reading this article in The Guardian, and I came across an odd-sounding sentence:
Sometimes Toby would have come back, and there would be loud music in the drawing room;
My impression was, ...
1
vote
2answers
237 views
Does/did for something you're continuing to do?
So the context is
A: I play the piano every night before I go to bed.
B: I thought I was/am the only one who does/did that
Because person B thought before that she was the only one who did it,...
1
vote
1answer
460 views
Term for someone who feels compelled to buy everyone she knows a gift
So just as recent as a few hours ago, I was in an argument with a girl.
She likes buying people gifts for their birthdays and various holidays. Sounds sweet right? Not in my opinion, especially when ...
6
votes
2answers
7k views
The habitual past “would” versus “simple past” tense
One can use the habitual past 'would' to describe past events. For example one could say,
Jim would spend weekends at the farm. He would cut weed and water the plants.
One can also use the simple ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
would have and would in non conditional statements
Can we use both would have and would in non conditional past statements? For example:
Last year during the summer, I would go home on weekends. past habitual
Last year during the summer, I ...
8
votes
5answers
3k views
What's the tense for repetitive past action?
In English, "would" usually denotes a conditional voice. "If I were sleepy, I would go to bed."
But I've caught myself using it to denote repetitive or habitual past action. "On Thursdays, we would ...
