ALREADY

Good morning / afternoon / evening everyone, depending on when you are reading this. Welcome back to the Daily Vitamin.

So far this week, we have explained STILL and YET. Yesterday we gave an example dialogue that showed the similarity in meaning between these words. Today we will explain the related word, ALREADY.

ALREADY
We use already to indicate that something has happened in the past or in the present, not in the future. It is common to use already with one of the perfect tenses (present perfect, past perfect, etc.). The sentence position of already is usually mid-position (after the auxiliary verb or, in the case of a question, after the subject.)

To express surprise or emphasize the meaning of already, place the verb at the end of the sentence.

Example 1:
You're late! We have already started eating.

Example 2:
I don't want to watch this video. I've already seen it.

Example 3:
Child: Mummy! Can I go outside and play?
Mother: What? Have you finished your homework already?
Child: Well, I still have to do page 12.
Mother: If you haven't finished all of your homework yet, then no, you can't go outside. I'll come and help you with it and then you can have a snack. I've already put some biscuits on the table for you. After your snack, then you can go outside. 

If you still have doubts about these words, I encourage you to write some sentences or a dialogue to get some writing practice with them. You can post your writing to one of our social media sites (Facebook or Bluesky) and we will give you feedback about your sentences as soon as we can.

I hope the rest of your day goes well. 

All the best!