'Would' and 'used to'

Read the watchman passage and count the woulds: "Every day, before the train came through, he would walk the length of the tunnel. If all was well, he would return to his hut and take a nap. If something was wrong, he would walk back up the line and wave a red flag, and the engine driver would slow down."

These aren't requests or wishes. Here would describes things done again and again in the past: habits or routines.

That matters, because would has other jobs too: "Would you pass the salt?" is a polite request. "I would like some tea" is a wish. In the passage it just means "in those days, again and again".

Used to does a similar job: "When I was a child, we used to live in a village near a forest."

But there's a difference: used to tells you it doesn't happen any more. "I used to paint in Grade 4" (I don't now). "Riya used to eat a lot of junk food, but she stopped last year." Would just describes the routine, without saying whether it still happens.

One more rule: used to works with states (be, have, live) as well as actions; would works only with actions.

So: "The weather in summer used to be really nice."

Practise: "Back then, we used to grow vegetables in our garden. Every day we would get up early and go for a walk. The weather in summer used to be really nice. We would go to the lake every Sunday for a picnic. In the evenings, my father would tell us amazing stories and we would listen."