What is a "past habit" and what is a "past state"?
Before we look at the grammar, we need to understand the difference between two kinds of things we talk about in the past: habits and states.
Past habits — things you did regularly
A habit is something you did repeatedly or regularly over a period of time in the past. It was your routine or pattern of behaviour. Crucially, it is no longer your habit now — it belongs to a finished chapter of your life.
Think of it like this: imagine your past self living a different life. The things that person did regularly — those are your past habits.
- I walked to school every day. (I no longer walk to school — that period of my life is over.)
- He played football every weekend as a child. (He doesn't play every weekend now.)
- She read for an hour before bed every night. (She no longer does this.)
Past states — things that were true about you
A state is not an action — it is a condition or situation. States describe how things were: what you owned, what you believed, what you felt, what you knew, where you lived. Like habits, past states are things that are no longer true now.
State verbs include: know, believe, think, want, love, hate, have, own, like, understand, remember, need, seem.
- She knew everyone in the neighbourhood. (She no longer lives there — this is no longer true.)
- We had a dog called Max. (We no longer have Max.)
- He believed he could become a professional musician. (He no longer believes this.)
- I hated vegetables when I was a child. (Now I like them.)
- They owned a house by the sea. (They sold it years ago.)
The logic of time — why we use Past Simple here
The key idea is this: the past habit or state existed during a closed, finished period of time. That period is over. You are not the same person. The world is not the same. The Past Simple tense communicates this — it places the habit or state firmly in the past and signals that it is no longer connected to the present.
Think of your past habits and states as belonging to a different chapter of a book. That chapter is finished. You can look back at it, but you are no longer in it.
How is the Past Simple formed for habits and states?
The form is identical to the Past Simple for completed actions. There is no special form for habits or states.
Affirmative sentences
I walked to school. · She knew everyone. · They had a dog.
- When I was young, I walked to school every day.
- She knew everyone in the neighbourhood when she was a girl.
- My father smoked for twenty years, but he quit in 2005.
- We had a dog called Max when we lived in the countryside.
- She wanted to be a singer when she was a teenager.
Negative sentences
I didn't walk to school. · She didn't know anyone. · They didn't have a dog.
Exception — verb be: wasn't / weren't (no did needed)
- I didn't walk to school — I took the bus.
- She didn't know anyone in the new city at first.
- My father didn't smoke — he was very health-conscious.
- We didn't have a dog — we had two cats.
- She didn't want to be a singer — she wanted to be an actress.
Interrogative sentences (questions)
Did you walk to school? · Did she know everyone?
Wh- questions: Question word + did + subject + base verb + ?
Where did he work? · What did she want to be?
Exception — verb be: Was / Were + subject + ?
- Did you walk to school every day when you were young?
- Did your family have a pet when you were growing up?
- Where did he work before he became a teacher?
- What did she want to be when she was a teenager?
- How often did they play cards on Sundays?
Used to — an alternative way to express past habits
The phrase used to + base verb is another way to express past habits and states. It makes the idea of "no longer" even clearer. However, the Past Simple is always correct and is used more frequently.
She used to know everyone. = She knew everyone (but she no longer does).
Note: Used to only exists in the past — there is no present form. You cannot say I use to walk.
Common time expressions for past habits and states
Common mistakes to watch out for
✗ When I was young, I walk to school every day.
✓ When I was young, I walked to school every day.
The time phrase 'when I was young' signals that we are talking about the past. Even though the habit was repeated, it belongs to a finished past period. Always change the verb to its past form. The Present Simple describes habits that are still true now.
✗ She was knowing everyone in the neighbourhood.
✗ They were having a dog when I visited.
✓ She knew everyone in the neighbourhood.
✓ They had a dog when I visited.
State verbs (know, have, believe, want, like, love, hate, own, understand, remember) describe conditions, not actions. They cannot normally be used in continuous tenses — Past Simple or Present Simple is correct. Ask yourself: is this something you do or something that is true? If it is true, use Past Simple.
✗ I use to walk to school every day.
✗ I used to walked to school every day.
✓ I used to walk to school every day.
Used to is always followed by the base verb (infinitive without to — wait, that sounds confusing). Let's be precise: used to + base form of the verb. In the negative and question forms, the spelling changes: Did you use to...? (not used to) and I didn't use to... (not used to).
✗ When I was a child, I have always walked to school.
✓ When I was a child, I always walked to school.
The phrase 'when I was a child' refers to a closed period of the past — that period is over. The Present Perfect is never used with closed past time references like this. Always use the Past Simple when the past period has a clear end point.