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would often vs. often used to

hirashin

Sempai
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8 Apr 2004
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Dear native English speakers,

I have a question about the difference between "would often" and "often used to".

(a) I would often go to the park when I lived in London.
(b) I often used to go to the park when I lived in London.

I think you can say (a), but can you also say (b)?
If so, what's the difference between them?

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin
 
Hola, amigo :OI

I am not native, but it can not stop me from tellin' a truth.

(b) means that 'I' had(have) opportunity, but by some reason 'I' did not realise it, or realised it very limitely.
For example: I used to play professional soccer, but old injury did not allow me.

:LOL:
 
I don't know the technical English rules on them........

but I think both are OK. I would say it this way ..........When I lived in London, I used to go to the park quite often.

Uncle Frank
 
Hola, amigo :OI

I am not native, but it can not stop me from tellin' a truth.

(b) means that 'I' had(have) opportunity, but by some reason 'I' did not realise it, or realised it very limitely.
For example: I used to play professional soccer, but old injury did not allow me.

:LOL:

Your understanding of (b) and your example are completely in error.
 
I'm not a native speaker so I could be wrong, but I think 'often' modifies the verb 'go', not auxiliary part (would/used to), and it should be put before the verb 'go' or at the end of the clause containing 'go'.
Personally I prefer the latter, i.e. "I would/used to go to the park often".
 
Your understanding of (b) and your example are completely in error.

May be, but ... here, and here, things are described similar to my explanation.

Used as a verb. Use to + verb is a regular verb and means something that happened but doesn't happen any more. It uses -ed to show past tense. But since it always means something that happened in the past, it should always use past tense. For example- I used to go to school in Paris. (I went to school there before, but now I don't.) Or, When Joshua was a child, he used to climb trees. (Now he doesn't climb trees.)
 
(a) I would often go to the park when I lived in London.
(b) I often used to go to the park when I lived in London.
For me, both these sentences are fine, and there is no difference in meaning. However, (a) feels a touch more formal, and more likely to be a written sentence than a conversational one.
 
Dear native English speakers,

I have a question about the difference between "would often" and "often used to".

(a) I would often go to the park when I lived in London.
(b) I often used to go to the park when I lived in London.

I think you can say (a), but can you also say (b)?
If so, what's the difference between them?

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin

used to and would can be used to talk about past habitual actions. There is no difference in meaning between the two, but two things an advanced learner may be interested in:
1) used to is more commonly used nowadays (in British English, at least).
2) would is often used when recalling stories from previous periods of our lives, it adds a slight nuance of nostalgia. "When I was a child I would go fishing with my grandfather every month. We would sit by the river for hours....."

ALSO:

used to can be used with stative verbs to express past states (I used to be..., I used to think..., I used to have...., I used to know...., I used to hate....)
would cannot be used with stative verbs to express past states.
 
For example b I would say it a bit differently. I think it may be correct it just sounds odd to me. I would probably say. I often went to the park when I lived in London. Sounds more concise that way.
 
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