TESOL/Time

When?

Adverbs of Time

Still, yet, and already

Still

Still is used for things that are continuing.

• She is still studying. (She was studying before and she continues studying now.)
• In ten years she will still be studying. (She will continue studying and not stop after 10 years.)

still ... not is about the past, as opposed to not ... yet, which is about the future.

• She still has not found what she is looking for. (She was searching in the past.)
• We haven't run out of gas yet. (We may run out in the future.)

Yet

Yet is about things that we expect.

• The soup is not cool yet. (Soon it will be cool and we can eat it.)
• Has she emailed you yet? (I expect her to send an email soon.)

Already

Already is for things that happened early, often earlier than expected.

• You have finished your homework already? That was fast!

Quiz1

Use still, yet, and already to finish this story.

I was born in 1975. In 1980, I was only five but I knew I wanted to be an artist.

I had not entered middle school so I couldn't study art in school. Instead of painting

in school I painted at home, and by the time I was ten I had learned how to paint flowers

very well. I continued painting in middle school and high school, and when I went to college I

was into painting so I decided to major in it. By my second year I had painted

something for an exhibition. I was very skilled but not making very much money from painting.

In fact, I had not sold a single painting , but I kept trying and in my third year

of university I sold my first painting. It was a painting of a rose. I can remember how

happy I was after I sold it.

quiz2

1 She ________ studying.

	is still
	has already
	has yet
	is not yet

2 In ten years she ________ studying.

	will still be
	will already be
	will not yet be
	will yet be

3 She ________ found what she is looking for.

	still has not
	not yet has
	already has
	yet has not

4 We ________ run out of gas.

	still have not
	haven't ... yet
	have already
	have yet

5 The soup ________ cool.

	is still not
	is already
	is not cool yet
	has yet

6 Has she ________ you?

	still emailed
	already emailed
	emailed you yet
	not yet emailed

7 You ________ your homework? That was fast!

	still have finished
	have finished already
	have not finished yet
	have yet finished

Language classification: this is an English as a Second Language resource.