Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[acranius]

hi!
question: my english teacher says that you cannot use the word "yet" without the word "not" so that this means the same as "still"!!!! (?) but i think that it can be so. please help me.....
(and forgive the mistakes which i have probably made)

[bud]

"Yet" and "still" are just two of many words in English that have several different uses. You could see "yet" in one sentence and understand its meaning, and then see it in another sentence where its meaning is quite different.

I think you are asking if "not yet" can be the same as "still," while "yet" can never be the same... No, that is not true. Like you, I also disagree with your teacher.

Cambridge Dictionaries Online shows five meanings for "yet", some with sub-meanings, plus two common expressions. Note the first sub-meaning under the first meaning ("Until now"): "still; until the present time." (I added the italics.)

An example they give is: "I haven't spoken to her yet." Using "still," the sentence would be "I still haven't spoken to her." If I understand correctly, your teacher claims that the sentence would be "I still have spoken to her" (without "not"). But it is not the same.

As a matter of fact, I cannot think of any example where "not yet" = "still." Did I misunderstand the issue?

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/results.asp?searchword=yet

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=92005&dict=CALD

[acranius]

sorry i meant that my teacher says that not yet is tha same as not still (or still not ??) but you cannot use the single word yet as th same as the word still but i think you can -- if you know what i mean.....

[bud]

Ok, I think I understand better now, but maybe not totally. Your teacher is saying that the syntax of the two words is different - at least it is different in their negative forms. Is that it?

If so, I think I agree. I noticed that yesterday when I was thinking of sample sentences. For example:

He is not ready yet. (Ok)
He is not yet ready. (Ok)
He is still not ready. (Ok)
He still is not ready. (Ok)

He is not ready still. (Not ok)
He is not still ready. (Not ok
He is yet not ready. (Not ok)
He yet is not ready. (Not ok)

So at least in this example, not goes before yet, but it goes after still. I don't know if this is always true, but I can't think of an example where you could replace not yet with not still.

Hope that helps.

[mars_1208]

I think that 'yet' and 'still' has the same meaning .But the main difference is 'yet' alway stands in the end of the sentence , but 'still' stands among some word of the sentence.

[Henry]

We use yet to talk about something which has not happened but which we are waiting for and expecting soon. It is generally used in questions and negatives and comes at the end of the sentence:

Haven't they arrived yet?

He hasn't phoned yet.

We use still to talk about something which is going on longer than expected. It follows the is in mid-position in statements and questions, and after the subject in negatives:

He is still on the phone!

Are they still quarreling?

I still haven't heard from him.

From http://free-esl-gg.com/keywords/kwstill.asp

Henry
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