When to Use Already and Yet in English for ESL Students

When to Use Already and Yet in English for ESL Students The words  already  and  yet  are common words in English that generally refer to an event that has or has not happened before another event in the past or present: She hasnt finished her assignment yet. - The event has not been completed up to the present moment in time.Jennifer had already eaten by the time he arrived. -  The event occurred before another event took place. Already and Yet -Present Perfect Both already and yet refer to  activities that have or havent occurred before the present moment in time. In bother cases, the adverb  recently  could be substituted with the same meaning: I have already finished my lunch. Ive recently finished my lunch.Have you seen Tom yet? Have you seen Tom recently?They havent visited Rome yet. They havent visited Rome recently. Already - Referring To a Past Event Already is used to indicate that something that happened before the moment of speaking. However, it refers to something that affects the present moment in time. Lets take a look at a few examples: I have already finished the report. This sentence could be used to express the idea that I finished the report and it is ready to read now. She has already seen that film. This sentence might express that the woman saw the film in the past, so she has no desire in the present moment to see the film. They have already eaten. This sentence would probably be used to state that they are no longer hungry. The key to using already is to remember that an action that has happened in the past - often in the recent past - affects the present moment or a decision about the present moment in time. Therefore, already  and  yet  are  used with the present perfect tense. Already - Sentence Placement Already is placed between the auxiliary verb have  and the participle form of the verb. It is used in the positive form and should not be used in the negative: Subject have / has already past participle objects I have already seen that film.Mary has already been to Seattle. NOT!! I have seen already that film. Already is generally not used in the question form. However, when expressing surprise in a rhetorical question it is sometimes used in informal conversations and added to the end of the sentence: Have you eaten already?!Have you finished already?! Yet - Asking Questions Yet is used to check whether something has occurred up to the present moment: Have you seen that film yet?Has Tim done his homework yet? Yet  is generally used to ask about something closer to the present moment. Yet is often used when someone expects something to have occurred before the moment of speaking: Have you finished that report yet? - In this case, a colleague expects the report to be finished soon. Yet - Question Placement Yet is always placed at the end of a question. Notice that yet is not used with question words as questions with yet are yes/no questions: Have subject past participle objects yet ? Have you finished that report yet?Has she bought a new car yet? Yet - Negative Form Yet is also used in the negative to express that something that is expected has not yet happened. In this case, yet is placed at the end of the sentence. Subject have not / has not past participle objects yet She hasnt finished the report yet.Doug and Tom havent telephoned yet. Already - With the Past Perfect Already can also be used with the past perfect to express that something had happened before something else: She had already eaten when he arrived.Jackson had already done his homework when he was asked for help. Already - With the Future Perfect Already is also used with the future perfect to express that something will have been completed before something else occurs: She will have already finished the paperwork before the meeting.Frank will have already prepared the report by the time the boss asks for it. Yet - Coordinating Conjunction Finally,  yet  can also be used as a coordinating conjunction with the same meaning as  but  to connect two simple sentences into one. Place  yet  after a comma to introduce a dependent clause: Theyd like to go to that new restaurant, yet they cant get a reservation.Hed already bought tickets to the play, yet he wasnt able to attend the performance.