Still and Yet
Do you know the difference between ‘still’ and ‘yet’?
Would you like to know when to use these words? Stick around and find out!
In this blog post I am going to tell you just that!
Still
Are you still here? Great! I had hoped you would be!
We use the word still when we want to express that something is in progress now, in other words it hasn’t stopped.
“I’m still reading the blog post” (You are in the middle of reading the blog post)
“I still want to go to California” (The desire to visit California has not changed)
“She is still in school” (She is in school at the moment)
These actions are in progress at the moment or are true at the moment. They didn’t change or stop.
Moreover, still can be used in questions and negatives.
When we use still in questions or negatives it usually conveys surprise or annoyance:
“Are you still playing computer games? You need to study!”
“She still hasn’t done her homework!”
If we use still with a comparative structure it communicates that the information is surprising.
“Her English is good but her French is still better”
Note: For comparative structures like this, it is more common to use even than still.
For example: Her English is good but her French is even better
Still
We use still to talk about something that is in progress now.
When do we use yet?
Are you bored yet?
I hope not!
While we use still to talk about something that is in progress at the moment, we use yet for something that has not begun or happened.
“I haven’t cleaned my house yet.” (I did not start or finish this action)
“The schools haven’t opened back up yet.” (The schools are still closed)
We use the word yet for both questions and negative sentences.
Yet
We use yet to say that something has not begun or happened.
Test Yourself
Make sentences or questions for the following situations.
Example: Your friend sends you a whatsapp message during the lesson asking you has your class finished. What would you reply?
Answer: I’m still in class.
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- Your flatmate has been in the bathroom for half an hour already. What would you say?
- You arrive at Penny’s early in the morning to do some shopping but the doors are still closed. What would the staff say to you?
- You are applying for a new job and the manager wants to see your degree but you are still in college. What can you say?
Test Yourself
Choose ‘still’ or ‘yet’ to complete sentences.
Phrasal Verbs
To stick around: stay here
For example: Stick around and we can watch netflix!
Find out: discover information
For example: I found out that my housmate was stealing my cookies!
Did you enjoy reading this blog post? I hope it helped.
Please find more English grammar tips elsewhere on our site and if you’d like information on our English courses in Dublin, please do not hesitate to contact us.
