DESCRIBING
HABITUAL ACTIONS
1. HABITUAL ACTIONS IN
THE PRESENT
I.
PRESENT SIMPLE
II.
OTHER WAYS
a.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS + ALWAYS
b. WILL + INFINITIVE
c.
KEEP + ING
2. HABITUAL ACTIONS IN
THE PAST
I.
PAST SIMPLE
II.
USED TO + INFINITIVE
III.
WOULD + INFINITIVE
IV.
USED TO-BE USED TO-GET USED TO
1-
I. THIS IS THE USUAL WAY OF EXPRESING PRESENT
HABITUAL ACTIONS:
Whenever I go to town, I spend too much money.
TEND TO + INFINITIVE:
The verb tend
to + infinitive can be used to refer to usual or generally occurring
actions.
She tends to get up late at weekends
II-THERE ARE OTHER WAYS OF EXPRESING HABITUAL ACTIONS IN THE PRESENT:
a.
THIS IS USED MAINLY TO REFER TO ACTION WHICH ARE TOO
FREQUENT:
He
is always giving me presents
IT IS ALSO USED WHEN YOU ARE ANNOYED WITH YOURSELF OR SOMEONE ELSE:
You
are always complaining about my cooking
b.
THIS CAN BE USED INSTEAD OF THE PRESENT SIMPLE TO
REFER TO BEHAVIOUR WHICH IS PREDICTABLE OR TYPICAL:
I
will sit for hours watching TV.
c.
THIS IS USED FOR HABITUAL ACTIONS WHICH ARE ACCIDENTAL
OR ANNOYING:
I
keep bumping my head on that tree.
2-
I. WHEN A PAST
SIMPLE VERB REFERS TO HABITUAL O REPEATED ACTIONS IT CAN BE ACCOMPANIED BY A
FREQUENCY EXPRESSION:
When I worked in London, I usually
got home at six o´clock
II.THIS REFERS
TO HABITUAL PAST ACTIONS WHICH NO LONGER HAPPEN:
Before I had car, I used to cycle to
work.
IT CAN ALSO BE USED FOR ACTIONS THAT
DID NOT HAPPEN BEFORE, BUT HAPPEN NOW:
I didn´t use to have foreign
holidays. Now I go abroad every year.
NOTES:
i.
Remember the question form of used to:
WHERE DID YOU USE TO GO FOR YOUR HOLIDAYS?
ii.
Sentences with used to do not need frequency adverbs,
but they are sometimes included for emphasis.
I ALWAYS USED TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL.
III.
THIS REFERS TO HABITUAL PAST ACTIONS:
Every
summer our parents would take us to the seaside.
Do not uses would in questions and negative sentences, as its meaning
can be completely different.
NOTE: there is a difference in meaning between USED TO
and WOULD:
USED TO can refer to permanent situations as well as habitual actions:
I used to be able to see the church from my bedroom window.
WOULD can only refer to actions, not situations. You can say:
He’d catch
the 7.30 train, but you cannot say He’d work in London.
IV.
USED TO +
INFINITIVE
REFERS
TO HABITUAL PAST ACTIONS:
My
father used to get up at 5 a.m.
BE USED TO + ING
MEANS
TO BE ACCUSTOMED TO:
I
must go to bed early. I´m used to having ten hours sleep at night.
GET USED TO + ING
MEANS
TO BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO, OFTEN TO SOMETHING UNUSUAL OR STRANGE:
If
you come to England, you´ll have to get used to driving on the left hand side
of the road.
NOTE: Other common verbs which follow the
same pattern are look FORWARD TO and OBJECT TO.
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