Still and the verb be in the passive

Question

Masks have been, and still are, used by many cultures around the world.

In the sentence above, I understand "and still are" is an inserted phrases after omitting "used by" from "Masks have been used by many cultures around the world, and they are still used." But I am wondering why "still" can come before "are.”The adverb "still" should be placed after "be" unless it is used in negative sentences. If I google, many examples of "and still are used" can be found even though there are more "and are still used." Can anybody explain about this use?

Avangi · Accepted Answer

The adverb "still" can be placed before or after the verb, as far as I know.

Are we still going hiking?
Yes, we still are going hiking.
Yes, we are still going hiking.

Were you a member?
Yes, I was, and still am a member.
Yes, I was and am still a member.

They started running an hour ago and are running still.
They started running an hour ago and are still running.

Of course, some people prefer one over the other. I guess it's a matter of style.

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymous”The adverb "still" should be placed after "be" unless it is used in negative sentences.

True, but adverb placement is somewhat flexible, so you will see deviations from this "rule" for stylistic reasons.

In this particular case I suspect the writer wanted to put the auxiliary verbs last in both phrases for the sake of parallelism:

Masks have been (used)
and still are .......... used

Otherwise, in spite of the commas, the reader might get the wrong impression that it's

Masks have been ...... (still used)
....and are.................. still used

CJ

Still and the verb be in the passive

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