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Burgasglarus Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

used to

I know "used to" is special. Which of the following is correct use of its negative:
She didn't use to smoke
or
She didn't used to smoke.

Could it be that both are correct?
  

Top answer

This question is a perennial favourite. If you search the Internet you will find lots of opinions. Mine, which others may not share, is that both forms are horrible, especially written down.

— GPY

  • This question is a perennial favourite.
  • If you search the Internet you will find lots of opinions.
  • Mine, which others may not share, is that both forms are horrible, especially written down.
  • In writing, I advocate "She used not to smoke".
  • In speech, people may not be clear which one they are saying.
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9 Answers
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This question is a perennial favourite. If you search the Internet you will find lots of opinions. Mine, which others may not share, is that both forms are horrible, especially written down. In writing, I advocate "She used not to smoke". In speech, people may not be clear which one they are saying.
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burgasglarus I know "used to" is special. Which of the following is correct use of its negative?
She didn't use to smoke or She didn't used to smoke.
Could it be that both are correct? No. both are wrong
Say 'She didn't smoke (at that time)'.
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"In writing, I advocate "She used not to smoke". not good
She used to not smoke. better
'She didn't smoke then.' another choice
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Anonymous"In writing, I advocate "She used not to smoke". not goodShe used to not smoke. better
"She used not to smoke" is actually the formally correct way of saying it in British English. It seems that "used not to" may not be familiar in AmE, which I wasn't aware of -- which suprises me a little given the frequency with which this question crops up.
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I much prefer 'used to not'. "used not to" seems 'backwards' and 'unfinished'.
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Anonymous I much prefer 'used to not'. "used not to" seems 'backwards' and 'unfinished'.
Where are you from?
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I didn't use to.
You didn't use to.
He didn't use to.
We didn't use to
They didn't uses to.

These are all typical in the American dialect.
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Sorry, but the above sound very 'hill billy' to me.
BarbaraPAI didn't use to.You didn't use to.He didn't use to.We didn't use toThey didn't uses to.These are all typical in the American dialect.
"didn't uses to" really??
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That last one was a typo, a result of typing on my phone.

I'm sure you could have figured that out.

I'd love to hear why it sounds "hillbilly" to you.
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