ESEN
Which one to use?Intermediateadverbadverb
StillvsYet
"Still" means something continues to happen; "yet" means something has not happened but is expected.
Side-by-side comparison
Still
adverb"Still" indicates that a situation that existed before continues in the present. "She's still here" = she has not left yet. It goes in mid-position, before the main verb.
She is still studying. She started three hours ago.
I still do not understand the problem.
Do you still live in the same apartment?
Yet
adverb"Yet" indicates that something expected has not happened up to now. Goes at the end of the sentence, mainly in negatives and questions. "Have you eaten yet?" = "I haven't finished yet" = not by this moment.
I have not finished the report yet.
Has she arrived yet?
The package has not been delivered yet.
Common mistake
- •"I did not eat yet" is incorrect with simple past in standard grammar; correct is "I have not eaten yet" (present perfect).
- •"Yet" pairs with present perfect in standard English.
- •Second common error: putting "yet" in mid-position ("I yet have not finished"), it always goes at the end: "I have not finished yet."
Trick to remember it
- •"Still" = the situation is ongoing (mid-position).
- •"Yet" = something expected has not happened (end of sentence, negatives and questions).
- •If something continues: "still." If something expected has not happened: "yet."
Quick rule
- •Still = continues (mid-position).
- •Yet = has not happened yet (end position, negatives and questions).
Did you know?
ALREADY completes the perfect trio for this group. "She has ALREADY finished" (she finished before expected, implies surprise). "Has she finished YET?" (neutral question about whether it happened). "She STILL hasn't finished" (frustrated expectation, it persists). All three express relationships with expected timing, but from different angles: ALREADY = sooner than expected (positive, surprise). YET = has the expected thing happened? (neutral). STILL = the expected thing continues not to have happened (frustration, persistence). In informal American English, YET sometimes appears with simple past: "Did you eat yet?", acceptable in everyday conversation but not standard in formal writing.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
He hasn't finished the report _____ . He needs another hour.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She is _____ waiting for her results. It's been two weeks.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
ActuallyvsCurrently
'Currently' means 'at the present time'; 'actually' means 'in reality', not 'nowadays'.
EventuallyvsFinally
'Eventually' means something will happen after an unspecified time; 'finally' marks the end of a wait.
AvsAn
'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
A lot ofvsMany
'A lot of' works for countable and uncountable; 'many' only for countable; 'much' only for uncountable.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy