A practical english grammar - Vyssaja skola 1978
Some idiomatic adverbs
Sound symbols
ALREADY and YET. These adverbs are troublesome to learners of English. Their meaning and their grammar are quite complicated. First, already is used in affirmative contexts and yet in interrogative and negative contexts, except that already may occur in interrogative and negative contexts when there is an element of surprise or the speaker is sure of a “yes” answer.
They’ve left already.
They haven’t left yet.
Have they left yet? (Neutral question; the speaker really doesn’t know.)
Have they left already? (Expressing surprise upon hearing that they have left or implying that the speaker would be surprised to learn that they had left.)
Surely they haven’t left already!
Second, already and yet are different in their word order. Already occurs in medial or final position, preferably in medial position, in both statements and questions.
They’ve already left. or: They have left already.
I’ve already told him what you said. (Already in final position in this sentence would be poor style; the predicate is too long.)
Have, you already told him? or: Have you told him already?
Yet may occur in medial or final position in statements, but the medial position is quite formal except when the predicate is long; final position is preferred in ordinary sentences. Yet occurs only in final position in questions.
They haven’t left yet. Formal: They haven’t yet left.
I haven’t yet told him what you said. (Medial position because of a long predicate.)
Have you told him yet? (Final position only in questions.)
Third, since already and yet express a time relationship that includes a space of time beginning at some moment in the past and extending to “now” (or the moment under consideration in the past), they can be used only with verb phrases that are compatible with such time relationships. Specifically, such verb phrases are these:
1) A “process” verb (see Chapter 5) in a perfect phrase (one containing have):
Have they left already?
Can they have left yet?
They had left already.
2) A “status” verb in the simple present or past, or simple modal phrase:
He knows it already.
I knew that already.
They don’t know it yet.
3) A “process” verb in the progressive:
They are already working.
They weren’t working yet.
4) A “process” verb in the simple present or past when the meaning is “activity characteristic of a certain time-span”:
The baby is only 10 months old, but she walks already.
I don’t speak French well yet.
He had only studied French for a few months, but he already spoke it beautifully.
Quite a few American speakers use already and yet with the simple past of process verbs when the meaning is “one past occurrence,” in violation of the rule just given:
Did you eat yet? (instead of: Have you eaten yet?)
I saw him already. (instead of: I’ve seen him already.)
These usages are avoided by careful speakers still, however, and the learner should not imitate them.
When yet is used with affirmative verbs, it means the same as still. (Yet also has other meanings as a conjunction or sentence connector; they are not included in this discussion.)
STILL (YET) and ANY MORE. These adverbial expressions mean “continuously, up to this (or that) moment.” Still (or yet) is used in affirmative sentences, and any more (often written now in the United States as one word: anymore) in negative sentences. If any more is used in a question, it implies that the speaker expects a negative answer.
Still occurs preferably in medial position, but also in final position; any more and yet occur only in final position.
He still lives on Cedar Street.
He must be there yet; I haven’t heard of his moving away.
Do you live there аny more?
Yes, we live there still.
EARLY and LATE. These occur only in final position, and so does forever in its ordinary meaning.
JUST. As an adverb of time, just expresses recentness,, or sometimes it indicates that an action is on the point of occurring.
Have they just come back?
They just left a few minutes ago.
I was just leaving when you called.
HARDLY, SCARCELY. These words as adverbs of time (recentness) form a unique pattern with the past perfect in main clauses.
Hardly had we returned, when . . .
Scarcely had I opened the door, when ...