ALREADY – YET – NOT YET – STILL – JUST

We often use already, yet / not yet, still and just with the present perfect because they are related to the present moment.

1.) Already or yet?

a) We use ALREADY to refer to something which has happened or may have happened before the moment of speaking.
- I've already spent my salary and it's two weeks before payday.
- He wanted to see “Sudden Risk” but I've already seen it.
- The train's left already!

b) Already (in questions) can sometimes suggest surprise on the part of the speaker, that something is unexpected:
- Is it seven o’clock ALREADY? (The speaker didn’t expect it to be so late.)

Note:
We don’t use YET to refer to something that has happened.
We use ALREADY instead: She’s bought the tickets already. Not: She’s bought the tickets yet.

Already can be placed in the “mid position” before the main verb and after the auxiliary-or the end of the sentence (stronger).

Mid position: We usually put “already” in the normal mid position for adverbs (between the subject and the main verb, or after the modal verb or first
auxiliary verb, or after “be” as a main verb)

2.) YET / NOT YET

We use YET most commonly in questions and negatives, to talk about things which are expected but which have not
happened:

- Is it seven o’clock YET? (The speaker thinks that probably it’s almost seven o’clock.)
- Jason hasn’t phoned yet. (I am expecting him to phone.)
- Kevin hasn’t registered for class yet.
- I haven’t finished my breakfast yet.
- Has she emailed you yet?

3.) Already, yet or still?

We use STILL /not yet or already/ not only in present perfect, but also in present tense to refer to the continuation of a
situation in present:

- I still meet my friends from my schooldays now and then. (I continue to meet my friends)
Not: I already meet my friends or I yet meet my friends

Compare these situations:

A: Is your sister STILL at university?
I know she was at university.
Does that continue to be true?
B: Yes. She’s got one more year to do.

A: Is your sister at university YET?

I expect that she will go to university.
Is she there now?
B: No. She’s only 17. She’ll go next year.

A: Is your sister ALREADY at university? She’s only 17!

I’m surprised if your sister is at university.
I did not expect it to happen until later.
B: Yes. She started this year.
She’s so clever they let her enter a year early.

GRAMMAR of “already – still – yet – not yet – just …” 1/5

4.) Negatives with still, yet, already

Still used with the present perfect also means that something hasn't happened up to now. We use it to emphasise that we
expected the thing to happen earlier. Still (in this context) is only used in negative sentences.

a.) Negatives with STILL suggest that the situation should have changed, but it has not:
- I still haven’t found my passport. I know it’s here somewhere.
(=I’ve been looking for it for a long time. I should have found it by now)
- I've been waiting for an hour and the bus still hasn't come.
- They promised me that report yesterday but they still haven't finished it.
- She still hasn't replied to my email. Maybe she's on holiday.

b.) Negatives with YET /=NOT YET/ mean that something has not happened up to now:
- I haven’t spoken to Henry about the car yet.
- John hasn’t called me yet.

Note:
We usually put YET at the end of the sentence (with the NOT-part at the auxiliary/modal verb),
whereas we usually put STILL BEFORE the main verb AND BEFORE the auxiliary/modal verb!

 Compare the difference:

1a) I haven’t finished it yet. 1b) I still haven’t finished it.

2a) You know, it’s late now and she hasn’t arrived yet. 2b) You know, it’s late now and she still hasn’t arrived  yet .

c.) In general, negatives with already are far less common than negatives with yet and still.
They usually refer to things which should have happened before they did happen:
- If you’ve already registered, the price is 50 pounds. If you haven’t already registered, it’s 75 pounds for late registration.
- I was surprised that they hadn’t already told me the news.

5.) just

a.) JUST used with the present perfect means 'a short time before'.
- I've just seen Susan coming out of the cinema.
- Mike's just called. Can you ring him back, please?
- Have you just taken my pen?!

(Just comes after the auxiliary verb (have/has) and before the past participle.)

b.) Of course, JUST is also used in the Present Continuous!

- Don’t disturb me, I’m just trying to do my homework

c.) And do not forget: JUST has a second meaning! Sometimes JUST means ONLY:
- So let’s buy these shoes which cost 3590 crowns. Oh, I’m afraid I have JUST (=only) 3300 crowns with me, what a pity!

GRAMMAR of “already – still – yet – not yet – just …” 2/5

GRAMMAR of “already – still – yet – not yet – just …” 3/5
Details on YET and ALREADY for advanced learners:

 a) Simple rule for the basic use of Yet:

To ask if something expected has happened. It is usually placed at the end of the sentence or question.
- Are we there yet? (A typical question kids ask while taking car trips with their parents)
- Is the report ready yet?
- Hasn't your mother told you yet? We're moving to Alaska!
To say that something expected hasn't happened:
- Mary can't go home yet, she hasn't finished her work.
- They haven't paid me yet. (I was expecting to be paid before now.)
- My parents haven't kicked me out of their house yet.

 b) Yet with questions

When we use yet in an affirmative question, it shows that the speaker is expecting something to happen:
- Is he home yet? (I expect that he will be home at some point.)
- Has your passport arrived yet? (I expect that your passport will arrive in the post.)

 c) Yet in past tense

Yet refers to an action that is expected in the future. It is not used in the past

 d) Negative questions with yet can express an even stronger expectation that something will happen. When we ask this
type of question, we expect a negative answer:
- Hasn’t Richard arrived yet? (I strongly expect that he should have arrived.)
- Haven’t you done your driving test yet? (I feel you should have done your driving test by now.)

 e) Yet with affirmative statements

When we use yet in affirmative statements, it shows that a situation is continuing, even when we might expect it not to
continue:
- There’s plenty of time yet. (even though you don’t think so)
- We’ve got a lot more work to do yet. (even though you think we have finished)

 f) Yet with superlatives

We often use yet after superlatives:
- His latest film is his best yet. (The film is the best one he has made up to now.)
- Two hours and 15 minutes – that’s Jones’s fastest marathon yet!

 g) Yet as a conjunction
Yet as a conjunction means ‘but’ or ‘nevertheless’. We use it to show contrast. It often occurs after “and”:
- So many questions and yet so few answers.
- It felt strange and yet so wonderful to ski in the summer!

 h) Yet for emphasis

We use yet for emphasis, with a meaning similar to ‘even’, especially before “more”, “another” and “again”:
- The cook arrived with yet another plate of cake.
- The printer’s broken down yet again! (It has broken down many times before.)

 i) As yet
As yet means ‘up to now, but the situation will definitely change’. We only use it in negative contexts:
- The film shows you the most typical places, as yet untouched by tourism, and how to get there.

 j) Often, we use still and yet together to explain why an action is continuing.
- I am still studying at the university because I haven’t graduated yet.
- We still don’t know who will be our new boss because the owners haven’t told us yet.
- I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to quit my job to go travel, but I’m still thinking about it.

GRAMMAR of “already – still – yet – not yet – just …” 4/5

 a) Already: typical errors
We don’t use the past simple with already for something which was completed before something else happened.
Instead, we use the past perfect.
- Their wedding in Rome was cancelled but we had already booked our flights and hotel, so we decided to go.
Not: … but we already booked our flights and hotel …

 b) Already in BE and AE:

You may hear American English speakers using already with the past simple.

 c) Already: where to put

We don’t use already between the verb and its object.

- I’ve already written three letters today!

Not: I’ve written already three letters today!

GRAMMAR of “already – still – yet – not yet – just …” 5/5