Would you live in a lighthouse? Would vs used to for past routines and states

Q: What's the difference between would and used to?

Both tell past habits; only used to tells past states . Keepers would light the lamp every evening and Keepers used to light the lamp every evening are both right. But with live , be , have or know , use used to : Whole families used to live at the light , not would live . The B1 lesson Would you live in a lighthouse? on edio.ai teaches the difference.

Q: When do you use would for past habits?

Use would + base form for an action that happened again and again , usually with a time phrase: When I was little, my grandma would take me to the lake. Every evening, the keeper would carry fuel up the tower. Not for a state ( In the past, families would live at the light is wrong) and not for one event ( Yesterday I would visit a museum ); the past simple fits there.

Q: What are some examples of would and used to?

These come from Would you live in a lighthouse? , a B1 lesson on edio.ai: In the morning, he'd clean the lens. On weekdays, Ida Lewis would row her brothers and sisters to school. The keeper's house used to be a home. Now it's a museum. Lighthouses didn't use to work by themselves. A listener adds a childhood memory : I used to be scared of the stairs inside, so I'd always stay at the bottom.

Q: Is it "Did you used to" or "Did you use to"?

It's Did you use to…? , with no -d , because did already carries the past: Did they use to row to school? The negative works the same way: Lighthouses didn't use to work by themselves. In positive sentences, keep the -d: Families used to live at the light. The sentence quiz in Would you live in a lighthouse? on edio.ai sets this trap more than once.

Q: Is the would in "Would you live in a lighthouse?" the same as past would?

No. Would you live in a lighthouse? asks you to imagine, now or in the future, like Would you like a job by the sea? Past would needs a past frame , such as every summer , every evening or when I was a kid : When I was little, my grandma would take me to the lake. The scheme in the lesson Would you live in a lighthouse? has a tip on the two.

Q: What did a lighthouse keeper do?

A keeper kept the light working from sundown to sunup . At sunset, keepers carried fuel up to the lantern room, trimmed the wicks and lit the lamp. In the morning, they cleaned the lens and polished the brass, and in the daytime they closed the lantern-room curtains, since sunlight through the lens could damage the glass. They also kept a daily log and greeted visitors and inspectors. Today all U.S. lighthouses are automated.

Q: Who was Ida Lewis?

Ida Lewis was a lighthouse keeper in Newport, Rhode Island . Her family lived at Lime Rock Light, on a small rocky island in Newport Harbor, and when her father became ill, Ida and her mother kept the light. She rowed her brothers and sisters to school on weekdays and became the official keeper in 1879. In 1881 she received the Gold Lifesaving Medal, and in 1924 the rock and its light were renamed for her.

Q: How do I teach would vs used to to B1 students?

Start with a routine everyone knows from childhood , such as summers at a grandparent's house, and collect the actions with would . Then ask what was true then but isn't now, and switch to used to for those states. Would you live in a lighthouse? on edio.ai does the same with a keeper's day, then sets state traps in its scheme, five drills and a chat.

Q: What's a good game for practicing would and used to?

A childhood-memory box game works well: a student opens a box such as When you were a kid, what would you do every summer? Say three things or Your town or city: what used to be there? and answers aloud. For a challenge, the class listens for a state verb with would and calls it out.

Q: What's good homework for would and used to?

Good homework mixes routines, states and single events , so students think about each verb: Every morning, my grandma would feed the chickens , This café used to be a bookstore , Yesterday, I found my old school photos in a box . In Would you live in a lighthouse? on edio.ai, all ten homework tasks check themselves, including a keeper's story from the museum and Riley's answer to a listener.

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches would vs used to for past routines and states through America's lighthouse keepers, now a job done by machines.

Grammar: Would + verb for repeated past actions (Keepers would light the lamp every evening.) and used to for actions and states (Whole families used to live at the light.).
Topic: America's lighthouse keepers, Ida Lewis of Lime Rock and the last official keeper at Boston Light, with words such as lens, wick, fuel and lantern room.
Activities: Episode notes to read, a museum tour up the tower and a listener's memories to hear, five self-checking drills, a chat to plan a visit and open boxes.

What's inside

Chapter 1Who keeps the light?
- PictureUnlock
- Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
- Study the words: life at the lighthouseVocabularyTry it
- Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock
Chapter 2Let's read: life at the light
- Look at the photo: a keeper's housePictureUnlock
- Read the episode notes: life at the lightArticleUnlock
- Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 3Let's listen: don't look down, Riley!
- Listen to Riley and CameronListeningTry it
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
- Listen to the Listener's TakeListeningUnlock
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
Chapter 4Grammar: They'd light the lamp every evening
- Study the scheme: would and used toGrammar schemeTry it
- Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: would for actions, used to for statesFill in the gapsUnlock
- Fill in the table: summers by the lakeFill in the tableTry it
- Choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
- Drag the words into the gaps: the museum's signDrag and dropUnlock
Chapter 5Let's talk: when I was a kid…
- Choose the right replies: planning a visitChatTry it
- Open a box and answer: when I was a kid…Open the boxUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
- Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
- Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: words and cluesMemory gameUnlock
- Choose the correct option: my family's pastChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
- Choose the correct answer: questions and short answersQuizUnlock
- Choose the correct option: a keeper's story from the museumChoose the optionUnlock
- Drag the words into the gaps: Riley's answer to MorganDrag and dropUnlock

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

keeper
lens
wick
fuel
brass
lantern room
spiral staircase
inspector
afraid of heights

Grammar: would vs used to for the past

Would and used to both describe a past that is over, and both can tell a repeated action: Keepers would light the lamp every evening. Keepers used to light the lamp every evening. Only used to works for states such as live, be and have. At a lighthouse museum, learners sort actions from states and keep single events in the past simple.

They'd light the lamp. Families used to live there.

Talk about the past: things people did again and again (would, used to) and things that were true then but aren't true now (used to).

Would for actions, used to for actions and states

Would + base form tells what someone did again and again: In the morning, they'd polish the brass. Used to covers actions and states, so it also says what was true then: Whole families used to live at the light. Boston Light used to have a keeper.

would + base form: actions, again and again

Every evening, keepers would light the lamp.
In the morning, they'd polish the brass.
Ida would row her brothers and sisters to school.

used to + base form: actions AND states

Keepers used to light the lamp every evening.
Whole families used to live at the light.
Boston Light used to have a keeper.

Every person, and 'd for would

Neither form changes with the person: She would row to school. We used to live in Michigan. The short form of would is 'd: We'd walk on the beach every morning. The negative of used to is didn't use to: He didn't use to have a car.

Who	would + action	used to + state	didn't use to
I	I would swim in the lake every summer.	I used to live by the sea.	I didn't use to like coffee.
you	You'd ride your bike to school.	You used to have long hair.	You didn't use to wear glasses.
he	He would light the lamp at sunset.	He used to be a keeper.	He didn't use to have a car.
she	She would row to school.	She used to know every rock.	She didn't use to work on weekends.
it (the light)	It would burn all night.	It used to need a keeper.	It didn't use to work by itself.
we	We'd walk on the beach every morning.	We used to live in Michigan.	We didn't use to have a dog.
they	They'd visit us every fall.	They used to have a farm.	They didn't use to have a TV.

Did… use to…? Questions and short answers

Questions take did and use to, with no -d: Did Ida use to row her brothers and sisters to school? The short answer uses did or didn't: Yes, she did. No, I didn't. A What question can be answered with would: They'd light the lamp.

Question	Short answer
Did I / you / he / she / it / we / they use to …?	Yes, … did. / No, … didn't.
Did you use to live by the sea?	No, I didn't.
Did Ida use to row her brothers and sisters to school?	Yes, she did.
Did keepers' families use to live at the light?	Yes, they did.
What did keepers use to do every evening?	They'd light the lamp.

Action, state or one time?

Repeated actions take would or used to. States such as live, be, know and need take only used to. One action at one time takes the past simple: Last Saturday, Riley climbed the tower. In 1939, the Coast Guard took over the lights.

Action, state or one time?

Repeated actions: would or used to. Keepers would / used to light the lamp every evening. States: only used to (live, be, have = own, know, like, love, need). Families used to live there. (Not: Families would live there.) One action, one time: the past simple. Last Saturday, Riley climbed the tower. (Not: would climb.) In 1939, the Coast Guard took over the lights.

The forms, and the other would

Both forms take the base form, with no to after would: would light, not would to light. Would you live in a lighthouse? is a different would: it asks you to imagine. Past would comes with time phrases such as every summer or when I was a kid.

The forms

After would and used to, use the base form: would light, used to live. (Not: would to light. Not: would lighted.) 'd = would: They'd light the lamp. Negatives and questions: didn't use to and Did … use to …?, with no d. (Not: Did they used to…?) Short answers: Yes, they did. / No, they didn't.

Another would

Would you like…? and Would you live in a lighthouse? are about now or about imagining. In this lesson, would is about the past, often with when I was a kid, every summer or every evening: When I was little, my grandma would take me to the lake.

At the lighthouse

Every evening, the keeper would carry fuel up the tower.
In the morning, he'd clean the lens.
Whole families used to live at the light.
Boston Light used to have a keeper, until 2023.
Did the keepers' kids use to help? – Yes, they did.
Lighthouses didn't use to work by themselves.

Common mistakes

In the past, families would live at the light.
In the past, families used to live at the light.
live is a state: only used to
In the past, the keeper's house would be a home.
In the past, the keeper's house used to be a home.
be is a state: only used to
I would to climb the stairs every day.
I would climb the stairs every day.
would + base form, no to
Did they used to row to school?
Did they use to row to school?
after did: use to, no d

More lessons on this grammar: Used to lessons and exercises

Try the would vs used to exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

What's in the lesson

18 auto-checked exercises
5 games
1 article
1 grammar scheme
1 set of word cards
2 audio clips
2 pictures
2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

describe repeated past actions with would + verb: Every evening, the keeper would carry fuel up the tower. In the morning, he'd clean the lens.
use only used to for past states: Whole families used to live at the light, not would live; The keeper's house used to be a home.
make negatives and questions with didn't use to and Did… use to…?: Lighthouses didn't use to work by themselves. Did they use to row to school?
keep one action at one time in the past simple: Last Saturday, Riley climbed the tower, not would climb
tell childhood memories with would and used to: My family would go to a lake every summer. I used to be afraid of heights.

Lesson 8 closes Dream jobs, new jobs, unit 2 of English B1.1 · Stories That Travel. It builds on A2.2 lessons 17 and 18, which taught used to, didn't use to and Did… use to…?, and on lesson 4's be used to, and adds would for past routines. Lesson 9 opens Space and discovery. A keeper's evenings and mornings followed the same steps every day, the kind of routine would describes.

Students spin a wheel of questions about lighthouses, heights and childhood summers, then learn twelve words, from keep and trim to lantern room and afraid of heights, with pictures and audio. The episode notes on keepers, Ida Lewis and automation come with true-or-false statements and a quiz. Riley tours a museum with Cameron, a volunteer guide, counting the stairs, and Morgan from Michigan remembers summers by the lake; both listenings are AI-voiced. Five self-checking drills follow the scheme, among them a museum sign to complete with the right past form. Then Jade plans a visit with the student in a chat, and open boxes ask about childhood.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, a word gap-fill and a memory game, then a choice of forms about a family's past, gaps with would and used to, sentences to order, a quiz on questions and short answers, a keeper's story from the museum and Riley's answer to Morgan.

Grammar:: would for past habits · used to for past habits and states · didn't use to · Did … use to …? · past simple for one action
Topic:: lighthouse keepers · lighthouses · jobs in the past · Ida Lewis · Boston Light · Old Point Loma Lighthouse · museums · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

Start with a grandparent's routine: tell the class three things an older relative would do every day, then one thing that used to be true. Students do the same in pairs.
Ask students to picture a lighthouse keeper before the reading: alone or with a family? Then they read to check, and find out why the notes call the lonely picture only part of the story.
Count the stairs with Riley: play the tour once for the keeper's evening and morning jobs, then again while students count along and note each would sentence.
Test each sentence with a state check: if the verb is live, be, have or know, students swap would for used to. Read out mixed sentences and let the class vote.

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The whole course: English B1.1 · Stories That Travel

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, each built around a true story. Riley, Jade and Darius make a podcast in Kansas City about true American stories, and each lesson tells one, from a seaplane airport in Alaska to the Marfa Lights of West Texas. Learners compare the present perfect with the past simple, use future forms, modals and quantifiers, and give their own opinions. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

Unit 1 Travel smart
the present perfect vs the past simple, for and since, indirect questions, be used to and get used to
Unit 2 Dream jobs, new jobs
will have to and won't be allowed to, the present perfect continuous, simple vs continuous, would vs used to
1. Lesson 5Would you jump off a moving boat for a job?Will have to, will be able to and will be allowed to
2. Lesson 6Working from anywherePresent perfect continuous
3. Lesson 7Could you be a camp counselor?Present perfect simple vs continuous
4. Lesson 8 · you're hereWould you live in a lighthouse?Would vs used to for the past
Unit 3 Space and discovery
it's + adjective + to, What's it like to…?, future forms compared, future time clauses, too and enough + to
Unit 4 Life online
the more…, the more…, be supposed to, ought to and had better, let, make and allow
Unit 5 Screen and page
-ed and -ing adjectives, gradable and extreme adjectives, present tenses for a plot, articles for things in general
Unit 6 Green living
few and a few, little and a little, all, most, some and none, each and every, fewer and less
Unit 7 Sporting moments
could, was able to and managed to, for, during and while, present tenses for live commentary, question tags
Unit 8 Mysteries and lost worlds
both… and, either… or and neither… nor, uncountable nouns, how sure we are about the future, unless, as long as and in case

Questions about this lesson

What's the difference between would and used to?

Both tell past habits; only used to tells past states. Keepers would light the lamp every evening and Keepers used to light the lamp every evening are both right. But with live, be, have or know, use used to: Whole families used to live at the light, not would live. The B1 lesson Would you live in a lighthouse? on edio.ai teaches the difference.

When do you use would for past habits?

Use would + base form for an action that happened again and again, usually with a time phrase: When I was little, my grandma would take me to the lake. Every evening, the keeper would carry fuel up the tower. Not for a state (In the past, families would live at the light is wrong) and not for one event (Yesterday I would visit a museum); the past simple fits there.

What are some examples of would and used to?

These come from Would you live in a lighthouse?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: In the morning, he'd clean the lens. On weekdays, Ida Lewis would row her brothers and sisters to school. The keeper's house used to be a home. Now it's a museum. Lighthouses didn't use to work by themselves. A listener adds a childhood memory: I used to be scared of the stairs inside, so I'd always stay at the bottom.

Is it "Did you used to" or "Did you use to"?

It's Did you use to…?, with no -d, because did already carries the past: Did they use to row to school? The negative works the same way: Lighthouses didn't use to work by themselves. In positive sentences, keep the -d: Families used to live at the light. The sentence quiz in Would you live in a lighthouse? on edio.ai sets this trap more than once.

Is the would in "Would you live in a lighthouse?" the same as past would?

No. Would you live in a lighthouse? asks you to imagine, now or in the future, like Would you like a job by the sea? Past would needs a past frame, such as every summer, every evening or when I was a kid: When I was little, my grandma would take me to the lake. The scheme in the lesson Would you live in a lighthouse? has a tip on the two.

What did a lighthouse keeper do?

A keeper kept the light working from sundown to sunup. At sunset, keepers carried fuel up to the lantern room, trimmed the wicks and lit the lamp. In the morning, they cleaned the lens and polished the brass, and in the daytime they closed the lantern-room curtains, since sunlight through the lens could damage the glass. They also kept a daily log and greeted visitors and inspectors. Today all U.S. lighthouses are automated.

Who was Ida Lewis?

Ida Lewis was a lighthouse keeper in Newport, Rhode Island. Her family lived at Lime Rock Light, on a small rocky island in Newport Harbor, and when her father became ill, Ida and her mother kept the light. She rowed her brothers and sisters to school on weekdays and became the official keeper in 1879. In 1881 she received the Gold Lifesaving Medal, and in 1924 the rock and its light were renamed for her.

How do I teach would vs used to to B1 students?

Start with a routine everyone knows from childhood, such as summers at a grandparent's house, and collect the actions with would. Then ask what was true then but isn't now, and switch to used to for those states. Would you live in a lighthouse? on edio.ai does the same with a keeper's day, then sets state traps in its scheme, five drills and a chat.

What's a good game for practicing would and used to?

A childhood-memory box game works well: a student opens a box such as When you were a kid, what would you do every summer? Say three things or Your town or city: what used to be there? and answers aloud. For a challenge, the class listens for a state verb with would and calls it out.

What's good homework for would and used to?

Good homework mixes routines, states and single events, so students think about each verb: Every morning, my grandma would feed the chickens, This café used to be a bookstore, Yesterday, I found my old school photos in a box. In Would you live in a lighthouse? on edio.ai, all ten homework tasks check themselves, including a keeper's story from the museum and Riley's answer to a listener.

How do you practice would and used to one-to-one?

Swap childhood stories: the teacher tells one summer routine with would and one old fact with used to, the student does the same, then asks Did you use to…? questions. The chat in Would you live in a lighthouse?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, works alone: Jade plans a museum visit and asks about the student's childhood trips.

Are there interactive exercises for would and used to?

Yes. Without an account, this page plays three parts of Would you live in a lighthouse?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Riley's tour with Cameron up the tower, a table about summers by a lake with used to, would and didn't use to for every person, and Jade's chat about a visit. Each answer gets instant feedback. An account unlocks the rest.

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About this lesson

What's inside

Vocabulary

Grammar: would vs used to for the past

Would for actions, used to for actions and states

Every person, and 'd for would

Did… use to…? Questions and short answers

Action, state or one time?

The forms, and the other would

At the lighthouse

Common mistakes

Try the would vs used to exercises

What's in the lesson

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

Teaching tips

Teach the whole lesson in edio

Start a free trial

Open the lesson

Teach it live or as homework

The whole course: English B1.1 · Stories That Travel

Unit 1 Travel smart

Unit 2 Dream jobs, new jobs

Unit 3 Space and discovery

Unit 4 Life online

Unit 5 Screen and page

Unit 6 Green living

Unit 7 Sporting moments

Unit 8 Mysteries and lost worlds

Questions about this lesson

Teach this lesson with your students