Still instead of left

Question

Hi,consider this situation, and remember it. The question I am going to ask depends on this:My job is correcting essays. I corrected 5 essays, and I'll have to correct 10 other essays before I'm done.Now look at the way I used "still":Q: How many essays do you still have to correct? - Me: Ten. I still have to correct ten essays.Is "still" ok used that way? It's supposed to mean "How many essays do you have left? There are ten left.". I always use "still" in such situations, instead of "left". How many exams do you still have to take? How many beers are there left? ... There are still three beers. There were ten, so this means we already drank seven! Whoa...Thanks.

Feebs11 · Accepted Answer

Yes - a perfectly acceptable use of still = continuing to happen or continuing to be done.

Kooyeen · Answer

Thanks. It's just that sometimes I have strange doubts... Because I was thinking that the situation is not the same, that is, it is not directly related to the usual meaning (=continuing to happen or continuing to be done)

I had a green car in the past - I have a green car now --> I still have a green car.
I had 15 essays to correct at first - I have 10 to correct now ---> I still have 10 essays to correct. = I have 10 left

It's a little different. It's really in place of "left".

Yankee · Answer

You will also hear people say "I still have 10 essays left to correct."

I had a green car in the past - I have a green car now -->I still have a green car
This suggests that you have only had two cars OR that you are only referring to your previous car and your current car, both green. The color green is a continuing/remaining aspect of the car you own. So, you could look at it this way: Greenis one of the aspects of your previous car that you have left.

Of course, that is not what people would usually say. My example is only intended as a way of illustrating how the idea of 'left' could be applied to your car sentences.

Kooyeen · Answer

YankeeYou will also hear people say "I still have 10 essays left to correct."

Oh yeah! I thought of that too... Yes, I think I got it. Thanks!

Khoff · Answer

Kooyeen, think of it this way -- when you had 15 essays to correct, the 10 essays were among them. After you did the first five, you still had the ten.

If you were talking about something that was not a subset of the original group, you would not use "still." If you started with 15 essays to correct, and then your supervisor came and gave you five more, you would not say "I still have twenty." On the other hand, if, every time you finished grading one essay they brought another one to add to your stack, you could say "I've been working all morning and I still have 15 essays to correct" -- even though they are not all the same ones that were there at the beginning, the "15-ness" of the group is constant. (do you like the new word I made up just for you?)

Kooyeen · Answer

Hi Khoff,
yes, I understand the reasoning. Thanks!

Still instead of left

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions