Position and different meanings of "still" in the sentence

Question

Is there any difference in meanings of "still" if I put it in different places in the sentence?: He had a fever... 1. He lay still in the bed 2. He still lay in the bed 3. Still he lay in the bed

Answer 1

To lie still [not lay] means to not move. Still is an adjective.

He still lay [past tense of to lie [on a bed] =He continued to lie on the bed. Still is an adverb.

Still, he lay in bed. That use of still is nevertheless. A conjunctive adverb. Please note: still used like that implies something occurred in a previous sentence.

The telephone was ringing loudly. Still, he lay in bed.

Answer 2

Yes, a great deal.

1. To "lay still" is to not move.

2. "Still" right after a subject indicates that you expected them to be doing something different.

3. "Still" at the beginning of a sentence indicates that you expected the whole scene to change.