USE 4 for Habits in the Past

The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as «used to.» To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

  • Examples:
  • I studied French when I was a child.
  • He played the violin.
  • He didn’t play the piano.
  • Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
  • She worked at the movie theater after school.
  • They never went to school, they always skipped class.