Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

Habitual actions

Would

can refer to typical habitual actions and events in the past and often occurs

in narratives:

We stayed in an inn which had been built by a film company when they had

made a film in the area. Every morning, the waiters 

would come down the long

verandah, followed by two small but very active monkeys, and leave us a tray

of coffee, rolls and tropical fruit. The fruit looked divine, but I never tasted any

of it. The monkeys 

would sit there staring, and I couldn’t resist their eyes

begging for food. The waiters 

would return, collect the tray and the monkeys

would follow them to the next room and do it all over again.

In this meaning, would is similar to used to, but tends to occur in more formal

contexts. 

Û

402 Used to and would

Volition

Would

may be used to refer to volition in past time situations:

Patsy was so kind. She 

would always help when we needed her.

I did ask him, but he 

wouldn’t give me an answer.

Responding

Would

(especially the negative wouldn’t) can refer in past time contexts to how

inanimate things responded or failed to respond to human intervention:

It was a freezing cold morning and the car 

wouldn’t start.