"I used not to" or "I used to not"

Question

Please help me to clarify this:Change this sentence into negative (in 3 ways)."I used to fly a kite when I was a little kid."My answers are:1. I didn't use to fly a kite when I was a little kid.2. I never used to fly a kite when I was a little kid.3. I used not to fly a kite when I was a little kid.And the answers I got from the questioner are these:1. I used not to fly a kite when I was a little kid.2. I used to not fly a kite when I was a little kid.3. I didn't use to fly a kite when I was a little kid.I told him that number 2 is incorrect. You can't split the infinitive 'to fly' in 'I used to fly' with 'not', but he insisted that it is correct and acceptable in spoken English. He also said that I should see the article about 'used to' in Swan's Practicle English Usage page 604. The problem is I don't have that book, so I can't argue about this issue with him. I have provided him with different references, though.Please, please, pretty please help me with this. Calling for Mister Micawber and Paul Tranter . . .

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I'm a native English speaker in the US, and In my view all 6 sentences you listed are okay.  Apparently, they were looking for answers that included the words "used to" and "not," and so his no. 2 is considered preferable to your no. 2.  A word of advice:  never confront the teacher like you did.  Some people love to do this:  point out correct answers on tests that are wrong or debatable, but this kind of thing does you no good.  There have to be standards in an educational environment, and things can't be perfect, and so pointing out minor flaws like this is pointless.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Both of you have valid arguments, but the questioner is right.

The form is actually "used to" + bare infinitive, not "used" + to-infinitive. So it is not "technically" a split infinitive to put the adverb after "used to." However, the strongly preferred formal negation is "used not to."

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/used+to?r=66

See: Usage note
The most common negative form of used to is didn't used to (or didn't use to), but in formal contexts used not to is preferred.

But the alternate "used to not" is found in everyday speech. Here are some sample quotes from the American Corpus:

I used to not care about marriage until I fell in love.
That used to not be OK with me, but now it is.
I used to not follow through on things.
She used to not wear dresses. She hated to wear dresses.
They're coming back in Florida now, Ohio, Montana, where they used to not exist at all.
" He makes me slow down and eat lunch, which I used to not do, " she laughs. " We have different philosophies. "

Juliar Fadillah · Answer

AnonymousA word of advice: never confront the teacher like you did. Some people love to do this: point out correct answers on tests that are wrong or debatable, but this kind of thing does you no good. There have to be standards in an educational environment, and things can't be perfect, and so pointing out minor flaws like this is pointless.

Dear Anonymous,
I'm an English teacher as well.

Juliar Fadillah · Answer

AlpheccaStarsBut the alternate "used to not" is found in everyday speech. Here are some sample quotes from the American Corpus:I used to not care about marriage until I fell in love.That used to not be OK with me, but now it is.I used to not follow through on things. She used to not wear dresses. She hated to wear dresses. They're coming back in Florida now, Ohio, Montana, where they used to not exist at all. " He makes me slow down and eat lunch, which I used to not do, " she laughs. " We have different philosophies. "

Dear AlpheccaStars,
So would it be correct (acceptable) to answer this kind of question in an exam with "I used to not fly a kite when I was a little kid"?

Fivejedjon · Answer

Juliar FadillahSo would it be correct (acceptable) to answer this kind of question in an exam with "I used to not fly a kite when I was a little kid"?

That would depend on the examiner's prejudices.

GPY · Answer

I find the negation of this sentence slightly odd however it is expressed.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Juliar FadillahDear AlpheccaStars,So would it be correct (acceptable) to answer this kind of question in an exam with "I used to not fly a kite when I was a little kid"?

If you had to give one correct answer, then stick with tradition.
But the Google Ngram viewer indicates that "used to not" is trending.

http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=didn%27t+used+to%2Cused+to+not%2Cused+not+to&year_start=1940&year_end=2009&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cdid%20not%20used%20to%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cused%20to%20not%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cused%20not%20to%3B%2Cc0

Anonymous · Answer

Greetings one and all

1. Grammatically speaking
There is no problem with any of the 6 sentences as written in Juliar's post.
If you listen to Swan (2005), you can even use the contraction 'usedn't'
"I usedn't to like opera." I used not to like opera.
I think all would agree that this is most unusual construction.

2. Common usage and natural sounding language
The problem here is that what is common and natural depends on the English you are used to.
I assert the view that, 'never used to,' followed by 'didn't used to,' would be the most common
ways of expressing the negative. I accept that there may be differing opinions on this.
Likewise, there will be differing opinions on Juliar's point about splitting the infinitive.
I have no problem with, '...used not to...'
This, once again, is simply a debate between prescriptive and descriptive grammarians.

The issue is dealt with by Swan in topic 604 on page 595. (Not page 604)

Juliar, please check your yahoo email.

Paul Tranter 3980 · Answer

My apologies for neglecting to log in.  That was moi (Paul Tranter).

Anonymous · Answer

It is just my observation, and you said you are a teacher which I respect. But I am curous because isn't it true that when we want to express a past idea or something we didn't use to like at childhood, we usually say " I didn't use to like broccoli but I got used to it now". That would be what I am used to.
In your example, I feel that " I used to fly kites (with my father) when I was a kid " is more common, not with an indefinite article 'a'. To me it is more natural to use plural noun in a general statement. For instance: I didn't use to like a bananas but I grew to like it.

Having said that, I feel this sentence has semantic issues- "I used to not fly a kite when I was a little kid"?
Doesn't it convey a sense that you never even tried flying kites. If that is the meaning, then will it be more sensible to say " I never flew a kite as a child"?

"I used not to" or "I used to not"

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