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The Right Way to Use 'Already'

and 'Yet' in English
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Doug Belshaw / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

By Kenneth Beare
Updated on October 25, 2019

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 hasn't 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.

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moment in time. In both cases, the adverb recently could be substituted with the same
meaning:

I have already finished my lunch.

I've recently finished my lunch.

Have you seen Tom yet?

Have you seen Tom recently?

They haven't visited Rome yet.

They haven't visited Rome recently.

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. Let's 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.

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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

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Incorrect usage:

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?!

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.

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?

Negative Form
Yet is also used in the negative to express that something that is expected has not yet

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She hasn't finished the report yet.

Doug and Tom haven't telephoned yet.

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.

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.

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:

They'd like to go to that new restaurant, yet they can't get a reservation.

He'd already bought tickets to the play, yet he wasn't able to attend the
performance.

Cite this Article

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English Lessons

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