What does already/ yet mean? Well, it’s not easy to talk about their meaning if we remove them from sentences. For words like already and yet we need to rely on grammar to understand the context and meaning.
Already and yet are time words. More precisely they are adverbs that are commonly used with present perfect.
Present perfect + already/ yet is used to show how a past event relates to the present.
We use already to say that an action has been completed some time in the past, sooner than expected.
Example: I’ve already finished my homework.
We use yet to say that something hasn’t happened when we expected it to happen. It often means that you have the intention to do something but you have not been able to complete the action.
Example: I haven’t studied for my test yet.
We also use yet to ask questions about things that were completed in the past.
Example: Have you called your mom yet?
*We use already to ask questions about things that we already know or to express surprise. We don’t expect an answer we only want to confirm the information.
For example, your mom hears you telling your friend on the phone that you have already studied for your final test. When you hang up, your mom tells you:
“Have you already studied for your final test? I can’t believe it! Back on my days we spent hours studying for the final tests”
Your mom is surprised. She only wants to verify the information that she just heard.
For more examples watch this mini lesson.
More lessons that can help:
The ‘s contraction: Apostrophe + s
Teacher Julieta 