still
part of speech
adverb (still); adjective (still, stiller, stillest); noun (a still — a single photo from a film); verb (still — to make calm, poetic)
meaning for a pupil
1) Still means even now, or up to this time. tree →
2) Still means not moving, or calm and quiet. tree →
3) Still means even so, in spite of that. tree →
4) Still can make a comparison stronger: «still more», «still better». tree →
5) Still water or still drinks have no bubbles. tree →
6) (casual) «Still» at the end of a sentence means anyway, even so: «Lost the match. Good game, still.» (UK); «you still there?» checks if someone is listening. tree →
7) (rude) «Are you still here?» or «still waiting…» can be cross or sarcastic. tree →
8) (formal) Exams say «remain», «yet to be», «outstanding», «nevertheless», «notwithstanding» and «stationary» (not moving). tree →
sense in the lessons
marks the amount that is left or not yet done: «still has», «still needs»; in stories, «stand still», «sit still», «still water»; phrases «still has», «keep still», «still life» (a painting of objects), «still to come»; in casual talk «still», «you still there?», «still got 2 left?»; in rough talk «are you still going on about it?», «still waiting, mate»; in the exam voice «the number of pages yet to be read», «the outstanding balance», «a stationary vehicle»
examples
- She still has 12 apples. tree →
- He still needs 5 more dollars. tree →
- How many pages does she still have to read? tree →
- There are still 8 birds. tree →
- Keep still while I take the photo. tree →
- The lake was still and quiet. tree →
- It was raining, but we still went out. tree →
- The baby is still asleep. tree →
- Still or sparkling water, love? tree →
- U still got them 2 tickets? tree →
- Are you still going on about that one chip? tree →
- Of a book of 120 pages, 45 have been read. Determine the number of pages yet to be read. tree →
- But Night stood still and mute. tree →
note
«still has» points to what is left; «still needs» points to a difference (target − done). «yet to be read» and «outstanding» in an exam mean still left. Trap: «still» does not mean add. «Still» = even so (but) and «still» = not moving are different senses. «stationary» in an exam means not moving.
In the corpora
- Debt is money that has been borrowed and is still owed.
- Buy now pay later splits a purchase into instalments; it is still borrowing, with charges if a payment is late.
- Feeling jealous of a new baby is very common, and parents still love the older child just as much.
- Tipsy means a little alcohol has made someone chattier and sillier than usual, though they are still in control.
- Many people feel let down by politicians, but they can still vote, write letters and get involved.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «still» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.