We would rent a boat every day
- Thread starter patsuan
- Start date
lingobingo
Senior Member
English - England
It’s not wrong, even though the inconsistency of style does jar a bit. You can’t use would in the first sentence, because you’re not describing regular but separate events/actions, as you are in the second. However, you could use the simple past in the second sentence, to match the first. That would read more smoothly.
KHS
Senior Member
USA - English L1
It's correct. "Would" represents habit here. I might move "Every day" to the front of the sentence so your reader understands more clearly.
patsuan
Member
Kyrgyz
Sorry, I forgot to tell that the right answers according to my textbook is past simple for both. I wanted to know if there is any difference in usage of past simple and would when talking about repeating actions in the past
KHS
Senior Member
USA - English L1
Both are correct. "Would rent/go" if you want to emphasize habit in the past, simple past if you're just indicating a finished action in the past.
lingobingo
Senior Member
English - England
Neither of those verb forms in itself indicates that an action is habitual/regular. What does that is either the context or some kind of adverbial, or a combination of both.
We rented a small boat and went fishing.
(just once, or many times? – it doesn’t say)
We rented a small boat and went fishing every day. (the adverbial provides the answer, not the verb)
We would rent a small boat and go fishing. (a conditional statement or one relating to a regular practice?)
We would rent a small boat and go fishing every day. (the adverbial provides the answer, not the verb form)
We used to rent a small boat and go fishing [every day].(implies a regular practice, with or without the adverbial)