How to use "used to" correctly

[Belles1654]

My students told me that they learned, this construction:

I used to smoke and I still do.

I tried not to confuse them by discrediting the teacher, but I don't think this construction makes sense.

Would you say, I used to...and I still do?

I thought used to meant whatever it is I don't do it anymore.
Please help me clear up this confusion. Thanks in advance.
Belles

[Monicah]

To me it doesn't sound correct. 'I used to' is past tense hence now putting 'I still do' which is present continues spoils the sentence.

[Alan]

Please activate Javascript in your browser to listen to this audio recording

141 Listened

Download mp3	Click to listen

Hi Belles,

I agree. Your sentence:'I used to smoke and I still do' doesn't have any point. By saying 'I used to do something',you are indicating that you don't do it any more.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[Milanya]

used to
used as an auxiliary to express habitual or accustomed actions or states taking place in the past but not continuing to be the case in the present: he used to vanish into his studio for days
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/used+to

In order to correct the sentence should look like this: I have been smoking for years and I still do.
_________________
con·text - The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.

[Alan]

I thought I'd just said that!
_________________
English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Progressive Forms

[Milanya]

Yes, you did. Am I not allowed to agree with you?
_________________
con·text - The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.

[Anna.ha]

Regarding present perfect continuous, I'd like to ask you all a question. What people mean by saying:

Have you been smoking?

Can you guess the context that leads people to come up with the above question?

[Cerberus™]

I'd ask that if I were a father suspecting his son of having smoked while he was not supposed to: "Son, have you been smoking? Your breath smells of peppermint, but I am no fool!"

The present perfect indicates here that it happened at an indeterminate point in the past, and/or that it might have happened several times in the past up until now.
The continuous a bit harder to explain, I'd say it is used because the smoking must have been happening for a while, as smoking takes more than an instant.