The normal, completely unremarkable negative (with _Do_-Support) of the idiom [*used to*][1] in - *I used to like marshmallows.* /a'yustuˌlayk'marʃˌmɛloz/ is **pronounced** (note the **/st/** in both forms -- no /zd/ for _used_ in this idiom) - /aydɪdṇ'yustuˌlayk'marʃˌmɛloz/ and that's not a problem. In speech. There isn't even much confusion with the almost identical idiom _be used to,_ meaning 'be accustomed to' -- most English speakers don't even notice that there are two of them. But the past-tense-with-presupposition idiom _used to_ does pose a problem, in writing. In speech it's treated as an infinitive, as required by _Do_-Support, no problem. But in writing _used_ doesn't **look** like an infinitive; in fact, it's a past participle. But the idiom is spelled _used to_. Hence, there are two choices: > a) *I didn't used to like marshmallows.* > > b) *I didn't use to like marshmallows.* Both of these look wrong to experienced English readers, because both of them contain sequences readers have been taught to avoid as products of grammatical mistakes: (a) contains _**didn't used**_, which is wrong -- _Do_-Support doesn't produce a participle *used*. So **that** looks wrong. (b) contains _**use to**_ instead of _used to_, which is the idiom, so _use_ is pronounced with a /z/. And **that** looks wrong, too. Too bad, so sad, English orthography flunks again. [1]: https://english.stackexchange.com/a/72205/15299