Asked on how to use used to and would, you know that I don't like to get lost in grammar but skimming through the Collins Cobuild Grammar we can come up with the following conclusions on the use of these:
Use either used to or would, if we are talking about repeated events and actions in the past, normally things that happened a long time ago and are now finished.
When I was little I used to play with my dog Fido. = When I was little I would play with my dog Fido.
(Now I no longer play with my dog Fido!)
We used to go out a lot on Fridays.
(Now I'm getting old and this implies that we no longer go out much.)
Use used to, and do not use would, if you want to talk about a state in the past.
I used to be thin. (Now I'm not so thin)
I used to comb my hair. (Now I don't have much to comb)
I used to live in Madrid. (Now I live elsewhere)
You should use 'use to' without a d in sentences when it follows 'did' or 'didn't' (don't worry too much about this because you will hear it said differently a lot of times).
Did you use to…?
Use would when you are telling a story or retelling an event from long ago, specially to describe a repeated behaviour in the past, although both would and used to are possible.
The princess would wake up and after streching she would comb her long and precious hair.
Read an excellent discussion on BBC learningenglish
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