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I'm confused with how to mention past habits.

If Tom is a student now, you say "Tom goes to high school", right?

If Tom already graduated, are these three all OK?

  • A-1) Tom went to high school until last year.
  • A-2) Tom would go to high school until last year.
  • A-3) Tom used to go to high school until last year.

I doubt "Tom was going to high school until last year." is a correct sentence. Is my understanding correct?

How about the sentences below?

B) Tom was dating Becky when he

  • B-1) went to high school.
  • B-2) would go to high school.
  • B-3) used to go to high school.
  • B-4) was going to high school.

Which sentence would be most appropriate? Tenses are the most difficult part of English to me.

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    would go in your second sentence is not past tense. Exception: Tom would go to school when his father was in town, but not when he was out of town.
    – Lambie
    Commented Nov 6, 2022 at 18:52

3 Answers 3

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Go in go to school is not the same as the normal word go: it is already habitual.

Therefore your A2 and B2 are not idiomatic in this sense. You can say He would go to school ... but this would refer to his daily journey to school, not to the fact or period when he was attending school.

Your A1 is normal. A3 is possible, but implies that something unexpected had happened to make him stop.

In your B, again, B1 is more natural, B3 is possible (with the same implication as A3), and so is B4; but to me the most natural choice is when he was at high school.

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  • Colin, I know it's a pain but it would be easier to follow your argument if you reposted the sentences....
    – Lambie
    Commented Nov 6, 2022 at 18:53
  • @Lambie: fair comment. I'll try and remember to in future
    – Colin Fine
    Commented Nov 6, 2022 at 20:31
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For the first one A, the first and third ones are correct

Tom would go to high school until last year.

^ is technically correct but the sentence does not flow well in a way

It is more grammatically correct in one writes

Tom would go to school last year.

I doubt "Tom was going to high school until last year." is a correct sentence. Is my understanding correct?

^ This sentence might be correct, I think its grammatically correct, but it sounds weird, so its better to stick with the other ones you have mentioned.

For B, all 4 correct, as they all imply how Tom dated Becky using past tense.

For the comment on the following:

But I still do not understand why "would go to school until last year" is weird while "would go to school last year" is OK. Would you explain what makes this difference, please?

To be honest, both these sentences actually have different meanings, "would go to school until last year", implies that Tom stopped going to school at the start of last year, and "would go to school last year", means Tom used to go to school last year and ended school probably at the end of the year.

E.g. The current year is 2022, put the first sentence into perspective (would go to school until last year), then it means Tom stopped going to school at the start of 2021. To clarify, "until" means "up to", so Tom stopped going to school when 2021 started. The second sentence (would go to school last year), implies that Tom stopped going to school when 2022 started.

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  • Why is A-2 incorrect? I learnt you use "would" to talk about your past habit.
    – kuwabara
    Commented Apr 18, 2022 at 2:54
  • its technically correct but it sounds weird, better to choose 1 or 3
    – DialFrost
    Commented Apr 18, 2022 at 2:57
  • Would you tell me what makes the difference? When do you use "would" for a past habit and it doesn't sound weird?
    – kuwabara
    Commented Apr 18, 2022 at 3:01
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    Thank you for your answer. I do appreciate it. But I still do not understand why "would go to school until last year" is weird while "would go to school last year" is OK. Would you explain what makes this difference, please?
    – kuwabara
    Commented Apr 18, 2022 at 7:52
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    Going to school isn't thought of as a 'habit' in the usual sense, since attending school and then going out to work are a normal part of life for most people. Tom would go to school isn't idiomatic, but we can say Tom would usually take the bus to school. Tom was going to high school until last year is fine - we can also say Tom was at [BrE] / in [AmE] school.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Apr 18, 2022 at 7:54
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If Tom already graduated, here’s how each example describes his past habits:

These sentences describe Tom attending high school in the past, possibly as a habit.

A-1) "Tom went to high school until last year.".
"Went" is simple past tense and can describe a past habit, as in "I often played football when I was young."

A-2) "Tom would go to high school until last year.".
"Would" describes repeated past actions, though "used to" is often better for states rather than habits, like attending school.

A-3) "Tom used to go to high school until last year.".
"Used to" is generally the best choice for past habits or states no longer true.

"Tom was going to high school until last year" isn't correct because it doesn’t imply a completed action.

Group B

In these sentences, you're discussing Tom’s relationship with Becky during his high school years.

B-1) Tom was dating Becky when he went to high school..
This doesn’t suggest dating as a repetitive action.

B-2) Tom was dating Becky when he would go to high school..
This is grammatically correct but uncommon.

B-3) Tom was dating Becky when he used to go to high school..
This best conveys the meaning, as "used to" signals Tom’s high school attendance as past and links it to the time he was dating Becky.

B-4) Tom was dating Becky when he was going to high school..
Also correct and natural. "Was going" suggests a period during which both actions were ongoing

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