Already or Yet?
2022-12-17
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1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about the differences between "yet" and "already."
2Dear Learning English,
3I can learn a lot from you. I have a question about the difference between "already" and "yet."
4For example:
5Have you already finished your homework?
6Have you finished your homework yet?
7Which sentence is natural?
8Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences?
9Thank you,
10Hiroyuki from Japan
11This is a great question, Hiroyuki! We answered a question a few weeks back about the differences between "yet" and "still."
12Thank you for bringing "already" into the discussion.
13Your example sentences are in question form, which highlights some slight differences between the two words.
14Both questions are "natural," as in native English speakers would use both these questions.
15The difference between them comes from how and why we use them.
16Let's look and "yet" and "already" by themselves, then we will look at the differences in your questions.
17"Yet" is an adverb and is often used at the end of a statement or question.
18We use "yet" in connection with expected actions. We often use "yet" in questions and negative statements.
19Here's an example:
20Class starts in five minutes and I haven't gotten out of bed yet.
21The use of "yet" expresses the idea that the student might be late for class.
22It connects the class time to their current state.
23When we use "yet" in questions, we are unsure if the action has been completed or not and we are checking either way by asking a yes or no question.
24Here is an example:
25Question: You are moving next month! Have you found an apartment yet?
26Answer: Not yet. I am still looking at places.
27By using "yet" in the question, we guess that the person answering the question has not completed the action up to this point in time.
28"Already" is an adverb and we use it before the verb in a sentence.
29We use "already" for actions that we expect to occur or have occurred depending on if we use "already" in a statement or question.
30When we use "already" in statements the action has occurred.
31The paper is due tomorrow and I've already written it.
32When we use "already" in a question, we are suggesting that the action may be complete.
33We want confirmation or denial in an answer.
34Question: You are moving next month! Did you already find an apartment?
35Answer: Yep, we found a place last week!
36Now let's look at your two questions.
37Have you already finished your homework?
38Have you finished your homework yet?
39In the first question, the questioner may believe that the listener has finished thew homework by using already.
40Once again, it is just a guess.
41In the second question, by using "yet," the questioner is not sure if the homework has been completed or not.
42Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Hiroyuki!
43What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
44And that's Ask a Teacher.
45I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about the differences between "yet" and "already." 2Question 3Dear Learning English, 4I can learn a lot from you. I have a question about the difference between "already" and "yet." 5For example: 6Have you already finished your homework? 7Have you finished your homework yet? 8Which sentence is natural? 9Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences? 10Thank you, 11Hiroyuki from Japan 12Answer 13This is a great question, Hiroyuki! We answered a question a few weeks back about the differences between "yet" and "still." Thank you for bringing "already" into the discussion. 14Your example sentences are in question form, which highlights some slight differences between the two words. 15Both questions are "natural," as in native English speakers would use both these questions. The difference between them comes from how and why we use them. 16Let's look and "yet" and "already" by themselves, then we will look at the differences in your questions. 17Yet 18"Yet" is an adverb and is often used at the end of a statement or question. We use "yet" in connection with expected actions. We often use "yet" in questions and negative statements. 19Here's an example: 20Class starts in five minutes and I haven't gotten out of bed yet. 21The use of "yet" expresses the idea that the student might be late for class. It connects the class time to their current state. 22When we use "yet" in questions, we are unsure if the action has been completed or not and we are checking either way by asking a yes or no question. Here is an example: 23Question: You are moving next month! Have you found an apartment yet? 24Answer: Not yet. I am still looking at places. 25By using "yet" in the question, we guess that the person answering the question has not completed the action up to this point in time. 26Already 27"Already" is an adverb and we use it before the verb in a sentence. 28We use "already" for actions that we expect to occur or have occurred depending on if we use "already" in a statement or question. 29When we use "already" in statements the action has occurred. 30The paper is due tomorrow and I've already written it. 31When we use "already" in a question, we are suggesting that the action may be complete. We want confirmation or denial in an answer. 32Question: You are moving next month! Did you already find an apartment? 33Answer: Yep, we found a place last week! 34Your two questions 35Now let's look at your two questions. 36Have you already finished your homework? 37Have you finished your homework yet? 38In the first question, the questioner may believe that the listener has finished thew homework by using already. Once again, it is just a guess. 39In the second question, by using "yet," the questioner is not sure if the homework has been completed or not. 40Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Hiroyuki! 41What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com 42And that's Ask a Teacher. 43I'm Faith Pirlo. 44Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 45_____________________________________________________________ 46Words in This Story 47occur - v. to happen 48apartment - n. a room or set of rooms rented as a home 49essay - n. a piece of writing that tells a person's thoughts or opinions about a subject 50guess - v. to form an opinion or give an answer about something when you do not know much or anything about it 51______________________________________________________________ 52Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 53Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.