Already or Yet?

2022-12-17

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1
  • Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about the differences between "yet" and "already."
  • 2
  • Dear Learning English,
  • 3
  • I can learn a lot from you. I have a question about the difference between "already" and "yet."
  • 4
  • For example:
  • 5
  • Have you already finished your homework?
  • 6
  • Have you finished your homework yet?
  • 7
  • Which sentence is natural?
  • 8
  • Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences?
  • 9
  • Thank you,
  • 10
  • Hiroyuki from Japan
  • 11
  • This is a great question, Hiroyuki! We answered a question a few weeks back about the differences between "yet" and "still."
  • 12
  • Thank you for bringing "already" into the discussion.
  • 13
  • Your example sentences are in question form, which highlights some slight differences between the two words.
  • 14
  • Both questions are "natural," as in native English speakers would use both these questions.
  • 15
  • The difference between them comes from how and why we use them.
  • 16
  • Let'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.
  • 18
  • We use "yet" in connection with expected actions. We often use "yet" in questions and negative statements.
  • 19
  • Here's an example:
  • 20
  • Class starts in five minutes and I haven't gotten out of bed yet.
  • 21
  • The use of "yet" expresses the idea that the student might be late for class.
  • 22
  • It connects the class time to their current state.
  • 23
  • When 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.
  • 24
  • Here is an example:
  • 25
  • Question: You are moving next month! Have you found an apartment yet?
  • 26
  • Answer: Not yet. I am still looking at places.
  • 27
  • By 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.
  • 29
  • We use "already" for actions that we expect to occur or have occurred depending on if we use "already" in a statement or question.
  • 30
  • When we use "already" in statements the action has occurred.
  • 31
  • The paper is due tomorrow and I've already written it.
  • 32
  • When we use "already" in a question, we are suggesting that the action may be complete.
  • 33
  • We want confirmation or denial in an answer.
  • 34
  • Question: You are moving next month! Did you already find an apartment?
  • 35
  • Answer: Yep, we found a place last week!
  • 36
  • Now let's look at your two questions.
  • 37
  • Have you already finished your homework?
  • 38
  • Have you finished your homework yet?
  • 39
  • In the first question, the questioner may believe that the listener has finished thew homework by using already.
  • 40
  • Once again, it is just a guess.
  • 41
  • In the second question, by using "yet," the questioner is not sure if the homework has been completed or not.
  • 42
  • Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Hiroyuki!
  • 43
  • What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
  • 44
  • And that's Ask a Teacher.
  • 45
  • I'm Faith Pirlo.
  • 1
  • Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about the differences between "yet" and "already."
  • 2
  • Question
  • 3
  • Dear Learning English,
  • 4
  • I can learn a lot from you. I have a question about the difference between "already" and "yet."
  • 5
  • For example:
  • 6
  • Have you already finished your homework?
  • 7
  • Have you finished your homework yet?
  • 8
  • Which sentence is natural?
  • 9
  • Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences?
  • 10
  • Thank you,
  • 11
  • Hiroyuki from Japan
  • 12
  • Answer
  • 13
  • This 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.
  • 14
  • Your example sentences are in question form, which highlights some slight differences between the two words.
  • 15
  • Both 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.
  • 16
  • Let's look and "yet" and "already" by themselves, then we will look at the differences in your questions.
  • 17
  • Yet
  • 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.
  • 19
  • Here's an example:
  • 20
  • Class starts in five minutes and I haven't gotten out of bed yet.
  • 21
  • The use of "yet" expresses the idea that the student might be late for class. It connects the class time to their current state.
  • 22
  • When 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:
  • 23
  • Question: You are moving next month! Have you found an apartment yet?
  • 24
  • Answer: Not yet. I am still looking at places.
  • 25
  • By using "yet" in the question, we guess that the person answering the question has not completed the action up to this point in time.
  • 26
  • Already
  • 27
  • "Already" is an adverb and we use it before the verb in a sentence.
  • 28
  • We use "already" for actions that we expect to occur or have occurred depending on if we use "already" in a statement or question.
  • 29
  • When we use "already" in statements the action has occurred.
  • 30
  • The paper is due tomorrow and I've already written it.
  • 31
  • When we use "already" in a question, we are suggesting that the action may be complete. We want confirmation or denial in an answer.
  • 32
  • Question: You are moving next month! Did you already find an apartment?
  • 33
  • Answer: Yep, we found a place last week!
  • 34
  • Your two questions
  • 35
  • Now let's look at your two questions.
  • 36
  • Have you already finished your homework?
  • 37
  • Have you finished your homework yet?
  • 38
  • In the first question, the questioner may believe that the listener has finished thew homework by using already. Once again, it is just a guess.
  • 39
  • In the second question, by using "yet," the questioner is not sure if the homework has been completed or not.
  • 40
  • Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Hiroyuki!
  • 41
  • What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
  • 42
  • And that's Ask a Teacher.
  • 43
  • I'm Faith Pirlo.
  • 44
  • Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
  • 45
  • _____________________________________________________________
  • 46
  • Words in This Story
  • 47
  • occur - v. to happen
  • 48
  • apartment - n. a room or set of rooms rented as a home
  • 49
  • essay - n. a piece of writing that tells a person's thoughts or opinions about a subject​
  • 50
  • guess - v. to form an opinion or give an answer about something when you do not know much or anything about it
  • 51
  • ______________________________________________________________
  • 52
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  • 53
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