Used To vs. Would ESL Games, Activities & Worksheets

ESL Used To vs. Would Activity - Speaking and Grammar: Matching, Ordering, Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work In this 'used to' vs. 'would' activity, students match an interviewer’s questions with an interviewee’s answers about a first job, then interview a partner about school memories using 'used to', 'would', and the past simple. First, in pairs, students match an interviewer’s questions with an interviewee’s answers to build a model interview and practice reading it aloud. Next, students complete school memory interview questions using phrases from a box and write short notes for their own answers. They then interview each other, take notes, and ask one follow-up question after each response, using at least one correct past form each time. Finally, the students take turns reporting about their partner's memories to the class, using used to, would, and the past simple, while the class listens and corrects any mistakes. show less

ESL Used To vs. Would Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Controlled and Freer Practice - Group Work In this insightful 'used to' vs. 'would' activity, students ask and answer 'Did you use to...?' and 'Would you often...?' questions about childhood habits. First, students complete questions with 'Did you use to' or 'Would you often' using each phrase six times. Next, students go around the class, asking the questions to their classmates. When a student finds someone who answers 'Yes, I did' or 'Yes, I would' to a question, they write down the person's name and then ask a follow-up question using 'would', 'used to', or the past simple to gain more information, noting down the answer in the last column. If a classmate replies 'No', the student repeats the question with another person or asks a different question. This process continues until the students complete each item on the worksheet with a different name and answer, one classmate per item. Afterwards, students give feedback to the class on the answers they collected. show less

ESL Used To vs. Would Game - Grammar: Guessing, Forming Sentences, Freer Practice - Pair Work In this free 'used to' vs. 'would' game, students guess typical past routine actions with 'would' based on past experiences described with 'used to'. In pairs, one student begins by picking up a card and reading out the 'used to' sentence on the card to their partner, e.g. 'I used to have a dog.' Their partner then has 60 seconds to guess three typical routine actions connected to the sentence using 'would', e.g. 'You would take the dog for a walk.' For each 'would' sentence that matches one of the actions on the card or is a reasonable synonym, the guesser scores one point. The guessing student continues to form 'would' sentences until they correctly guess all three routine actions or the time runs out. Afterwards, the student with the card reveals any actions that were not guessed, and the card is removed from the game. The other student then picks up the next card, and so on. The game continues until all the cards have been used. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins. show less

ESL Used To vs. Would Game - Grammar, Vocabulary and Speaking: Describing, Guessing - Group Work In this engaging 'used to' vs. 'would' game, students practice describing past habits, routines and states using 'used to', 'would' and the past simple. In groups, students take turns picking up a card, without showing it to anyone or reading the words aloud on the card. The student with the card then describes the past habit, routine or state on their card to the other students, using 'used to', 'would', and the past simple, without saying the topic or any of the taboo words shown on the card or their variations. They do this by speaking as if they experienced it themselves, using 'I'. When the student has used all three forms at least once and finished speaking, the other students race to guess the situation on the card. The first student to guess the situation wins the card. Play continues until all the cards have been used. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. show less

ESL Used To vs. Would Game - Grammar and Speaking: Storytelling, True or False, Guessing, Controlled and Freer Practice - Group Work In this fun 'used to' vs. 'would' game, students practice telling short stories about superpowers, describing their lives before they got a superpower and the incident in which they discovered it, using 'used to', 'would', and the past simple. The aim of the game is to listen to the stories and guess whether the speaker is a real superhero telling the truth or an imposter inventing a false story. In groups, students take turns picking up a card and telling a superpower story. If the student has a superhero card, they use the superpower on the card. If the student has an imposter card, they invent a plausible superpower that fits the incident described on the card. The other students listen to the story and check that it includes 'used to', 'would', and the past simple. If something is missing, they ask the speaker to add or correct one sentence. Students then vote on whether the speaker is a superhero or an imposter. After the students have voted, the speaker reveals the card. Each student who guesses correctly scores one point. If no one guesses correctly, the speaker scores one point. The card is then removed from the game, and it is the next student's turn to pick up a card and tell a story. The game continues until all the cards have been used. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins. show less

ESL Used To vs. Would Game - Grammar and Speaking: Sentence Completion, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work In this rewarding 'used to' vs. 'would' game, students practice describing past habits and states, a past change event, and a present routine or situation using 'used to', 'would', the past simple and the present simple. In pairs, one student begins by picking up a card and completing the prompts to describe a past state or habit, the repeated past action, the change event and the current routine or situation, e.g. 'I used to live in a small village. Every day, I would work in the garden and help on the farm. One day, I moved to a big city and found a new job. Now I work in an office, do my shopping in large shopping malls and enjoy city life.' Their partner listens and checks the language using a checklist on the board. If the student's description is clear and includes at least one correct example of each target form, they keep the card. If there are mistakes, their partner points them out, and the student rephrases once. If the student still cannot produce a correct version, the card is placed at the bottom of the pile. The other student then takes the next card and repeats the process. The game continues until all the cards have been used. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. show less

ESL Used To vs. Would Game - Grammar: Bingo, Identifying, Labelling - Group Work In this enjoyable 'would' game, students play bingo to distinguish between three different grammatical functions of 'would' (past routines, reported speech, and unreal situations) using context clues. To begin the game, the bingo caller reads out a sentence at random from the caller's sheet. Each player then listens for the 'would' verb collocation and checks if it is on their bingo card. If they have it, they label the function on the line under that collocation using PR for past routines, RS for reported speech or US for unreal situations. The game continues until a player has labelled four 'would' verb collocations in a row. When this happens, the player shouts 'Bingo!' and reads out the four 'would' verb collocations and their functions. The bingo caller then checks the four functions using the caller's sheet. If all four functions are correct, that player wins the round. If any function is incorrect, the player is out of the round, and the game continues. After a winner has been confirmed, the group continues onto a second round to see who can label all 16 'would' verb collocations first. Groups play several rounds, with students taking turns to be the bingo caller. show less

ESL Used to vs. Would Game - Grammar and Speaking: Forming Sentences, Guessing - Group Work In this fun 'used to' vs. 'would' game, students describe and guess life changes by making sentences using 'used to' and 'didn't use to' for past situations, 'getting used to' for adaptation, and 'would' or 'wouldn't' for repeated past actions. Each card shows a change that has happened in someone's life. The students' task is to form sentences that demonstrate that change using 'used to', 'didn't use to', 'getting used to', and 'would' or 'wouldn't' for repeated past actions. In groups, students take turns choosing one of their cards and saying three to four sentences, describing the situation before and after the change using forms of 'used to', 'getting used to', and 'would' or 'wouldn't'. Students must include at least one example of 'used to' or 'didn't use to' each turn, and use 'would' or 'wouldn't' only to describe repeated past actions connected to the earlier situation. The other students listen. After the speaker finishes, the other students race to guess the right answer. The first student to guess correctly wins the card. If nobody guesses correctly, the speaker keeps the card. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. show less