Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Grammar #3: Past Habit (due Tuesday)

Today in class I told you about my nighttime ritual when I was a kid, remember? How my mother used to tuck me into bed and tell me a special story?

Then we heard Maz Jobrani tell us what he used to do when he was a kid and how he used to feel when his father would come get him from the park.

For this post, I want you to tell us about something that you used to do when you were a kid. I do not want one sentence. I want a good explanation so we can really experience what you experienced :)

Remember: We can use USED TO + SV to express past habit.
               We can also use WOULD + SV to express past habit. However, we cannot use WOULD + SV to express activities that didn't repeat in the past. For example, I can say I USED TO LIVE IN NEW YORK but I cannot say I WOULD LIVE IN NEW YORK because that does not express a past habit (a habit is an action that repeats). I can also say I USED TO KNOW algebra well, but I don't anymore. However, I cannot say I WOULD KNOW algebra before (because KNOWING is a continuous situation, not a repeated activity).
  

32 comments:

  1. When I was a kid, I used to get up at 5:45 a.m and do exercise, have breakfast, go to school at 6:45 (because majority of classes im Vietnam start at 7 o'clock). Therefore, the students in Vietnam always get up early to prepare everything carefully before they go to school, so do I. Besides, I would play hide and seek with my friends after school. This is an interesting mini game, I like playing this game very much. I often used to be told lots of fairy tails by my grandmother after I had finished my homework. She passed away about 8 years ago, and now I miss her and her fairy tails are still in my mind.

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    Replies
    1. Well written (and you're not even in my grammar class)!

      Delete
  2. When I was 5 years old, I used to ride my bicycle around the playground near my aunt house. I saw many places to play such as ballhouse, swings, cars, etc. There was an ice cream house too. They sell many types of ice cream. I used to play until 4p.m with my aunt, then my parents would come to ride me and my aunt from the playground.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. my parents would come to PICK ME UP from the playground.

      Good

      Delete
  3. When I was a girl, I used to watch horror movies like Chucky, Freddy Krueger, Dolly the killer doll, etc, also I used to love any horror movies and read horror stories. In fact I used to Climb trees and play like a boy every afternoon with my friend, the only thing that I loved as a girl were barbies, in fact I used to hate common games for girls. Therefore I had many behaviors like a girl and also like a boy.

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  4. When I was a kid, I used to be afraid of roosters. While I was sleeping, I would have the nightmare of coke that made me crying from the dream. What was worse, there was a shop that set up lots of big cokes, between my home and school. That was a horrible moment when I past the shop every day. Until I grew up, I still don't know why I was so feared of this animal. Maybe I was given a perk by a rooster when I was a baby.

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  5. When I was 5 years old, I used to spend a lot of time to ride a bicycle. I often rode my sister's bicycle after I finished my school until my parents called me for dinner. My parents used to give me a punishment because I did not come back home on time for dinner. At that time, riding a bicycle was my hobby and I cannot stand if I could not ride a bike, so I persuaded my parents if they let ride a bike everyday, I would come back on time, and they agreed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. my parents used to punish me

      good use of "used to"

      Delete
  6. When I was eight years I used to play teachwando. I love this kind of sport he made relax and felt comfortable also I used to play volleyball I like do this exercise because all body move and I lost weight.

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  7. when i was kid i used to play many sports such as taekwondo, ride a bicycle, to run... Also i used to sing in school in the end of the year but the most thing that i missed a lot is the potluck which i used to have it every weekend with my best friend

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the most thing that I missed a lot--> the thing that I missed the most

      good use of "used to"

      Delete
  8. Before i came to USA, i used to play Basket ball and soccer ,on video games,and hang out with my friends.Sometimes when I had free time, I used to read some novel and my favoriye is ''Les Frasque d'Ebinto''.

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  9. I uesd to take bus to school every morning when i was a kid, but my parents would get me a cab if i could be late sometimes.After school, i used to listen to music on the radio while i was doing my homework.By the time i was getting ready to sleep, i would turn the radio into a story station through the whole night.

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    Replies
    1. good past habit

      I'm not sure what you mean by "I would turn the radio into a story station all night."

      Delete
    2. the meaning is "i would turn on the radio, and put on the story station, then play it all night even after i fall in sleep",please let me know the correction if you have time, thank you.

      Delete
  10. When I was a child, I used to watch cartoons and I used to play with my dolls. Besides, I used to play hide and seek with my friends, and sometimes we used to play soccer. Another game that I would play was jumping rope. Also, my family and I would go to the park every Sunday and we used to ride our bicycles.

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  11. When I was a child I would always have to take my little sister to the bathroom because she was scared. We use to share a room which didn't have a bathroom so we would have to leave the room, walk across the hallway to get to the bathroom. She would always ask me to go with her and I would have to wait for her outside the bathroom with the door not closed all the way. This was great for me because when she didn't listen to me I would tell her "Well, maybe you should be nicer to me so that when you need me to go to the bathroom I can take you". :)

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  12. When I was in my home town in Saudi Arabia, I used to spend my most times in the garage with my brothers and friends fixing our cars helping each other, also, every Friday I used to meet the whole family to having lunch and dinner.

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  13. I used to live in China when I was a child. I would play basketball with my friends in our school. I spend a lot of time for playing, so my score is very limited. Then, when I arrived America, I used to study in the library. For one reason is I want to go to a good college, so I have to study every day.

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    1. I used to spend a lot of time playing, so my grades weren't very good.

      Now you're in America do you still go to the library? If so, you can't say "used to."

      Delete
  14. Exist so many things that I used to do in the past. For example, when I was a child I used to play Barbies with my best friend and my sister, also I used to go to the movies theater with my uncle Pepe and we watch Disney's movies. In addition before I came to Houston and I lived in Mexico I used to drive my car beside I used to go to the stadium for watching soccer games. Finally I used to speak Spanish with all people but now I try to speak English

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    1. You cannot begin a sentence with a VERB! In English, we need a subject!!!

      ...and we WOULD watch Disney movies.

      good "used to."

      Delete
  15. when i was kid i used to go out of the house for play football (soccer). After playing my mom was waiting for me at home and i punished without football for a week, you can not imagine how that hurt me for not playing for a week jajajajaja, but before the week was over drove me to scape again jajajaja .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. my mom used to wait for me at home and I would be punished...
      but before the week was over, _______ used to drive me to escape again.
      WHO?

      Delete
  16. When I was kid ,I used to be close to my mom then others of siblings of my family .After I got 18 years old ,I went to live with oldest brother and It was something new for me because that the once I used to live with out her next to me.

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    1. I used to closer to my mom than to other siblings in my family. After I turned 18...
      that was the first time I HAD TO live without her near me.

      Delete