[Grammar] STILL and YET in negative sentences.

[The apprentice]

Dear teachers and members:


I have learned that YET should be used in negative sentences and questions, and that STIIL in affirmative sentences and questions.

Other than the above rule, I have also learned that there may be exceptions to the rule, or other rules within the same rule. I have seen STILL used in negative sentences, but according to what I have noticed, STILL as usual remains before the verb, except with the verb TO BE, but I think it basically comes before the word NOT.

Different from STILL, YET comes after the negative word NOT or at the end of the sentence.


1) I still don't understand your arguement.

2) I don't understand your arguement yet.

3) I still haven't spoken to my lawyer.

4) I haven't spoken to my lawyer yet.

5) I'm still not sleeping.

6) I'm not sleeping yet.


NOTE: It seems to me that it might be a difference in meaning between the sentences 5 and 6.


QUESTION:

Is it not advisable to use STILL in negative sentences, and it always comes before the negative word NOT?


Regards

 

[Matthew Wai]

Is it not advisable to use STILL in negative sentences, and it always comes before the negative word NOT?

About 37632 results found using 'STILL NOT' on http://fraze.it/n_search.jsp?q=still+not&ff=&ffp=0&ffo=false&cpradius=1&l=0&t=0&sugg=off

Not a teacher.

 

[The apprentice]

Thank you Mathew Wai


According to your post, now I can affirm that STIIL always comes before the particle NOT in the negative form no matter which verb is used.


That web site you already posted (Frazeit) it's very interesting.

 

[Rover_KE]

No, you can't.

Click here to see an equal number of results from the same source using not still.

 

[Matthew Wai]

No, many of the results are actually 'still not' instead of 'not still'.

Not a teacher.

 

[The apprentice]

Now you're talking Mathew Wai because in the above ROver_KE's post those clauses having NOT before STILL do not belong to the clauses having STILL in them, and almost most of them are separated by a comma from the clauses where STILL is; for example:


1) Whether I play football or not, I still should be able to make it in this world.

2) He now admits that we're not winning in Iraq, but still thinks we're not losing

3) The All Blacks do not want France to still be in the game with 20 minutes to go


Thanks again Mathew Wai

 

[MikeNewYork]

I think "still not" is more common than "not still", but don't make a rule out of it. In many constructions both could be used but with different meanings.

I can't believe he is still not here. (He hasn't arrived yet.)
I can't believe he is not still here. (He arrived but left already.)

Is John not still married? (Did the marriage break up?)
Is John still not married? (Is he single?)

We are not still eating. (The meal we had is finished.)
We are still not eating. (We are fasting.)

 

[Matthew Wai]

That web site you already posted (Frazeit) it's very interesting.

I don't know whether you know the following site, which is also interesting.
http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/

Not a teacher.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Do you still not recognize that the 'rule" is wrong?

 

[Matthew Wai]

Does an interesting site have anything to do with a wrong rule?

 

[MikeNewYork]

No, but post #7 should.

 

[Raymott]

Does an interesting site have anything to do with a wrong rule?

It can do if it clarifies the rule.

 

[Raymott]

To the original question: 'Not' is not always necessary in negative sentences with 'still'.
"I am still to do the last four questions."
"The last four question are still undone" - though you could question whether this is a negative sentence; and 'undone' means 'not done'.

 

[The apprentice]

MikeNewYork.


I haven't seen sentences written with NOT before STILL in books, newspapers, magazines and so forth, unless they be personal comments. I think a rule cannot be made out it because speaking is a personal matter and there is no rules for personal speaking, there are writing rules. For example; there is a grammatical comma, but there is also a personal comma.

Those sentences above seem to me to be ''personal sentences'' not from a writting.


Good observation MikeNewYork!

 

[MikeNewYork]

Anything that is spoken can be written, and vice versa. Check the Ngram here. As far as I know, Ngrams are only from books.

 

[Matthew Wai]

In this previous thread, you told me not to use 'employments' because there were few results for it on Ngram.
Now you think 'not still' can be used while there are even fewer results for it.
Did you contradict yourself?

 

[MikeNewYork]

No. The issue here was whether or not there was a grammar rule against "not" before "still". I wrote several sentences to demonstrate that "not still" might work. Then the OP responded with a statement about written English, so I provided this. Ngram is not designed to compare options that are completely different. For example, see this Ngram which compares "I" to "abominable".

https://books.google.com/ngrams/gra...nable;,c0;,s0;;abominable;,c0;;Abominable;,c0

That makes no sense whatsoever.