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This question closely ties into a question I had about verbless clauses. However, I am writing a new one at the suggestion of a user.

Polarity-sensitive aspectual-related words are those such as 'still' and 'already.' I have established that modifiers like 'obviously,' which I believe to be evaluative in nature, can function as modifiers in an adjective phrase, as determined by the answer to my question linked above, where I confused them to be part of verbless clauses. But can 'still' and 'already' also be modifiers in an adjective phrase?

Below is an example similar to the one from my previous question, using 'still' instead of 'obviously.' I have highlighted in bold what I believe to be the complete adjective phrase.

He was crying, still sad because of the passing of his father.

MJ Ada
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  • He was crying, already anticipating the beatings Why not? They appear in clauses, subordinate and main. As with the other question, anything you can do with he was present in the clause, you can do with it absent. Similar to converting relatives into participles, but a different rule. – John Lawler Oct 17 '23 at 19:52

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Let's not overthink things. Still and already are just ordinary adverbs. They can readily modify ordinary attributive adjectives, as in "a still unfinished project" or "an already wealthy individual." Polarity sensitivity isn't relevant here.

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