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'would' and 'used to' are interchangeable. We can use either while talking about PAST HABITS.
I used to visit my sister twice a week.
I would visit my sister twice a week.
Can we use 'would' in a subordinate clause followed by a main clause with 'would'?
When he would see me, he would wave.
Or should there be past tense in the subordinate clause?
When he saw me, he would wave.
Note that it was his habit to wave but I'm not sure if 'seeing' can be considered as a habit.
Any of these would be correct, but one of them is better:
Sentence 1 is grammatically correct, but I prefer one of the others. It sounds a little stilted. Sentence 3 implies that he no longer waves when he sees me and makes it sound like we no longer get along. So, I would say something like sentence 2.
In this case, “he would wave” in the main clause is enough to establish that “saw” in the subordinate clause is something that happened repeatedly, not just once.
