We most often use the adverbs “already”, “just”, “still” and “yet” with the present perfect, although they may be used with other verb tenses. These adverbs make reference to time and their location within the sentence depends on which of them we are using.
Already
“Already” refers to something that happened before or sooner than expected and generally is located between the auxiliary verb and the principal verb.
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They have already finished their homework.
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Jacob has already left work.
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The train has already arrived.
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Just
“Just” is used for actions or events that occurred shortly before or not long ago and like “already”, “just” is located either before the principal verb or between the auxiliary verb and the principal verb.
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I just ate, but I’m already hungry again.
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Where’s Jacob? He’s just left.
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Beth has just moved to New York.
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Still
We use “still” for actions or events that have not happened or have not ended, especially when we expect the actions or events to have happened sooner. “Still” is frequently used with other verb tenses, but regardless of the verb tense, this adverb is always found before the principal verb.
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I took two pills, but I still have a headache.
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Is Jacob still working at the hospital?
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They still haven’t finished their homework.
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Yet
“Yet” is used for something we expected to have happened but has still not happened. We tend to use this adverb in negative and interrogative sentences. In contrast to the other adverbs discussed here, “yet” is generally found at the end of the sentence.
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I’m really hungry. I haven’t eaten yet.
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Jacob hasn’t left his job at the hospital yet.
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Have they finished their homework yet?
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Has the train arrived yet?
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Utilizamos los adverbios “already”, “just”, “still” y “yet” más a menudo en el presente perfecto, aunque podemos usarlos en otros tiempos verbales. Estos adverbios se utilizan en referencia a tiempo y su posición dentro de la oración depende de cuál de ellos estemos utilizando.
Already
“Already” se refiere a algo que ha pasado antes o más pronto de lo que se esperaba y es traducido como “ya” en español. “Already” generalmente va entre el verbo auxiliar y el verbo.
Ejemplos:
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They have already finished their homework.(Ya han acabado sus deberes.)
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Jacob has already left work.(Jacob ya se ha ido del trabajo.)
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The train has already arrived.(El tren ya ha llegado.)
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Just
“Just” se utiliza para acciones que han ocurrido hace poco tiempo y se traduce como “acabar de” o “justo”. Al igual que con “already”, “just” va antes del verbo o entre el auxiliar y el verbo en la frase.
Ejemplos:
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I just ate, but I’m already hungry again.(Acabo de comer pero ya tengo hambre de nuevo.)
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Where’s Jacob? He’s just left.(¿Donde está Jacob? Acaba de irse.)
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Beth has just moved to New York.(Beth acaba de trasladarse a Nueva York.)
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Still
Usamos “still” para acciones o acontecimientos que todavía no han ocurrido, sobre todo cuando esperamos que ya hubieran ocurrido. Se traduce como “aún” o “todavía”. Es con frecuencia usado también con otros tiempos verbales, pero “still” siempre va antes del verbo, independientemente del tiempo verbal que utilicemos.
Ejemplos:
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I took two pills, but I still have a headache.(He tomado dos pastillas, pero todavía tengo dolor de cabeza.)
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Is Jacob still working at the hospital?(¿Jacob aún trabaja en el hospital?)
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They still haven’t finished their homework.(Todavía no han acabado sus deberes.)
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Yet
“Yet” es usado para algo que esperabamos que sucediera, pero todavía no ha pasado. Tendemos a usarlo en frases negativas e interrogativas. En frases negativas puede ser traducido como "aún"’ o “todavía” y en preguntas como “ya”. En contraste con los otros adverbios de esta lección, “yet” va al final de la frase.
Ejemplos:
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I’m really hungry. I haven’t eaten yet.(Tengo mucha hambre. Todavía no he comido.)
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Jacob hasn’t left his job at the hospital yet.(Jacob todavía no se ha ido de su trabajo en el hospital.)
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Have they finished their homework yet?(¿Ya han terminado sus deberes?)
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Has the train arrived yet?(¿Ya ha llegado el tren?)
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