I used not to be a good man. vs I used to not be a good man.

Both phrases are correct, but they have slightly different meanings. The phrase 'I used not to be a good man' emphasizes the past habit of not being a good man. On the other hand, 'I used to not be a good man' emphasizes the negation of being a good man in the past. The choice between them depends on the intended emphasis in the sentence.

Last updated: March 25, 2024 • 790 views

I used not to be a good man.

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to express a past habit or behavior.

This phrase is used to talk about a past habit or behavior that was different from the present. It emphasizes the action or state that was true in the past.

Examples:

I used not to eat vegetables when I was a child.
She used not to like horror movies, but now she enjoys them.
He used not to exercise regularly, but now he goes to the gym every day.

Show examples from the web [+]

You used to be a good man.
For what's the purpose of life, if it's not to be a good man?
Now I'm trying to be a good man.
And I want to be a good man.
I'm trying to be a good man.
I try to be a good man.
I- I try to be a good man.
I just want to be a good man.
Your last chance to be a good man.
Listen, I've always tried to be a good man.
I try to be a good man.
He deserved to grow up to be a good man.
I try to be a good man.
L... I try to be a good man.
That your biggest regret is that you'll never know if Nestor would have grown up to be a good man.
I've tried to be a good man, all my life.
He appears to be a good man and he is trying to do a difficult job to the best of his abilities.
He taught me how to be a good man, Danny, and I wasn't.
We'll take care of him and educate him... keep him safe and raise him to be a good man.
I'm not perfect, but I try to be a good man.

Alternatives:

I didn't used to be a good man.
I used to be a bad man.
I wasn't a good man before.
I used to behave poorly.
I wasn't a kind person in the past.

I used to not be a good man.

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to emphasize the negation of being a good man in the past.

This phrase is used to emphasize the negation of a past action or state. It highlights the fact that being a good man was not true in the past.

Examples:

I used to not like spicy food, but now I enjoy it.
She used to not speak English fluently, but she practiced and improved.
He used to not care about his health, but now he is very conscious about it.

Show examples from the web [+]

You used to be a good man.
Now I'm trying to be a good man.
And I want to be a good man.
I'm trying to be a good man.
I try to be a good man.
I- I try to be a good man.
To help you be a good man.
I just want to be a good man.
Your last chance to be a good man.
Listen, I've always tried to be a good man.
I try to be a good man.
He deserved to grow up to be a good man.
I try to be a good man.
L... I try to be a good man.
By what you decide to do every day, you will be a good man.
That your biggest regret is that you'll never know if Nestor would have grown up to be a good man.
If you have a guitar should be a good man.
I'd rather be a good man than a great king.
-He can be a good man, Giles.
No, Joey... if you want to be a good man, be a good man.

Alternatives:

I didn't used to be a good man.
I used not to be a good man.
I used to be a bad man.
I wasn't a good man before.
I used to behave poorly.

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

I used not to be a good man. vs I used to not be a good man.