Still

I find the word order in the second one to be unnatural.

AnonymousWhat's the difference, if any, in meaning between the following sentences:
1.They are still here.
2 They still are here.

The meaning is the same, but I agree with GG that the second is not a very natural word order.

There is a difference worth noting in the negative, however:

They're still not here. = We are still waiting

Thank you, GG and CJ, for your replies. The problem with the word depends on the part of the speech it belongs to. I'm not a native, so my grasp of that lacks your intuition and naturalness, but what if the 'still' is an adjective on the one hand and an adverb on the other. Would it be correct to use the 2. when 'still' was an adverb?

Thanks.

Do you mean "still" with the meaning of "not moving"?

They were still there but they were active here?

In that case, you can't use the second form at all. -- EDITED to fix my wrong word choice.

Yes, I mean 'still' as an adjective 'not moving' and as an adverb 'up to now and at this moment'.

Thanks.

My answer is the same. If you are using it as an adjective, the second form cannot be used.

Oh dear: I just realized I said the first form in my prior post.

They are STILL here -- as an adjective, this is grammatical, but an unusual sentence.
They still are here -- as an adjective, this is wrong.

AnonymousWould it be correct to use the 2. when 'still' was an adverb?

It is an adverb in 2. No, 2 is not good.

still as an adjective:

The stars shone brightly in the still night. (quiet, silent, windless)
You could see your reflection in the still water. (motionless, not flowing)
A still flag hung from the mast. (at

Thanks, GG and CJ, for your replies.