past simple, used to, would

[Lenka]

Which of the verb forms can complete the sentences below? Tick all possible answers.


In the old days people _______ you if you were in trouble.
a) helped b) used to help c) would help

(The solution says a,b,c are the right answers - but why? I don' understand it.... I thought that just answer a) was right...)

it is a conditional, isn't it? So how can I use "used to" or "would" ?

[Casiopea]

"used" is a past tense form; e.g, used to, something I did in the past but no longer do (as much) today.

"would" expresses more than one meaning, one of which is, a past routine or habit; e.g., She would wait for the bus every evening.

Hope that helps.

[Lenka]

Yes, I can understand this well... I know what "used to" and "would" means, but if we say:

If you were in trouble, people would help you. - this means they would help you (nowadays) - it's present, isn't it?

But if we wnat to say the same sentence, but in the past it's just the same sentence? I don't have to change the tense? For example something like: If you were in trouble yesterday, they would have helped you.

On the other hand, as I got to write this, I slowly got to know what the problem was. I think I (probably) understand why the tense isn't changed. The reason is the fact that the "would" in the sentence doesn't mean (he would do it if something happened), but "used to". Am I right?

[rewboss]

Part of the problem with "would" is that it has so many different jobs, it's hard to keep track of them all. In this case, it's actually the past tense of "will", and indicates that it was a matter of routine.

Very often we have to rely on context. The sentence beings "In the old days...", and this implies that we're not talking about something that didn't really happen, but that we're describing what people routinely did.

Sometimes, writers and speakers give the grammar a bit of extra help by adding the word "always": "...people would always help you..." It's not necessary, but it makes the meaning a bit clearer.

[Lenka]

OK, thanks a lot for your explanations... I belive it's the best to go to an English speaking country to learn it "without learning", but... money, money, money... you know.
I'll perhaps learn how to use would and all these other words in time...