They used to pay soliders in salt.
Used to and would
Used to
1 Used to is followed by an infinitive without to. Used to has no present or continuous forms.
Salt used to be very valuable.
2 Make used to questions with Did + noun / pronoun + used to ...?
Did the Egyptians used to buy gold?
Did you used to eat a lot of sweets when you were young?
3 Make the negative of used to with did not (didn't) use to or never used to. Paper money didn't use to be very common.
We never used to spend much.
4 Used to is for habits and activities which are no longer happening today. Used to often contrasts the past and the present. Used to usually comes without a time expression.
The Romans used to pay soldiers in salt.
I used to work in a bank but now I'm a teacher.
Would
5 Would is followed by an infinitive without to, and the negative is would not. The affirmative short form is 'd and the negative short form is wouldn't. For example, you'd give a sheep and get a knife. They wouldn't work on Sundays.
6 Would is similar in meaning to used to but it is less common. In a text, would usually follows used to or a past time expression.
That summer we would go swimming every morning. Jack used to love books. He would read two books every week.
Used to vs. would
7 Used to, not would, is for past states.
The Lydians used to live in Turkey. NOT would live.... My sister used to know him. NOT would know...
Used to and would vs. the past simple
8 We can use the past simple instead of used to and would.
We used to watch / watched too much TV.
The soldiers would sell / sold the salt for other things.
9 Use the past simple, not used to or would, when talking about single events, how long they took or how many times they happened.
I went to the market yesterday.
NOT I used to go to the market yesterday.
We didn't eat for two days.
NOT We didn't use to eat for two days
Jane visited me in hospital twice.
NOT Jane used to visit me in hospital twice.