Why "would rank" was used not just "ranked"? When can I use this tense?
Native speaker’s answer
Rebecca
"Would" was used because it is indicating that this happened in the past. At that time (2003), ranking tasks by importance was considered an ongoing event; it was continuously happening. "Would" is used in this sentence to show that ranking tasks by importance was continuously happening then but is no longer happening now. You can use "would" to show that an action happened continuously in the past but no longer happens right now. Ex: When he was a baby, he would bounce around every time he heard music. Ex: She would run around excitedly every time the ice cream truck stopped at the house.