English Grammar Lesson : Already, Yet, Still

“Already”, “yet” and “still” are adverbs we use to add time references to our sentences. This can be particularly useful when we use the perfect verb tense when talking about a non-specific time in the past.

Example

• “I haven’t gone out yet.” (vs. “I haven’t gone out.”)
• “I’ve already spoken to her.” (Notice how I deleted the “h” in “her”). (vs. “I have spoken to her [in the past].”)

Let’s go over the definitions of “already”, “yet” and “still”.

Already

Meaning: Something happened before now.

Examples

• “I don’t want to visit New York. I have already been there, and I want to go somewhere new for vacation.”
• “I didn’t buy the new jeans, because I already went over my shopping budget for this month.”

Yet

Meaning: Something did not happen before now, but it may happen.

Examples

• “You haven’t visited Paris yet? It’s beautiful!”
  • (Implied that she will or should visit Paris in the future.)

• “I haven’t started my new exercise regimen yet, because I hurt my foot last week.”
  • (But she will start the exercise regimen in the future after her injured foot heals.)

Notice that “yet” is often used with the negative, because it’s something someone has not done in the past.

Still

Meaning: Something exists from the past and continues to happen now without change.

Examples

• “No, I still haven’t visited Paris. But I hope to go next summer!”
  • (She hasn’t been to Paris in the past, and that is also the case in the present moment.)
• “You still have to go pick up your last assignment at school.”
  • (She had to pick up her last assignment at school at a past time, and that hasn’t changed up to the present time.)