Use of ya, todavía and todavía no

What “ya / todavía / todavía no” really express (time + expectation)

These words don’t describe how you do something. They describe where you are on a timeline (often with a feeling of “sooner/later than expected”).

Choose fast: completed, continuing, or not happened yet?

1. Is it completed? → use ya.

   • Ya hemos comprado las entradas. (We’ve already bought the tickets.)

   • Ya has visto a la jirafa. (You’ve already seen the giraffe.)

2. Is it continuing right now? → use todavía.

   • Todavía vemos monos. (We still see monkeys.)

   • Todavía estamos en la zona de la selva. (We’re still in the jungle area.)

3. Has it NOT happened up to now? → use todavía no.

   • Todavía no hemos visto al león. (We haven’t seen the lion yet.)

   • Todavía no he comido. (I haven’t eaten yet.)

Where do you place them in the sentence?

• Ya / todavía usually go before the verb.

  Ya hemos comprado las entradas. / Todavía vemos animales.

• Todavía no works like one unit and normally goes before the verb.

  Todavía no hemos visto al león.

• With object pronouns, keep normal order (A2-friendly rule):

  Ya lo he visto. / Todavía no lo he visto.

Why “ya + pretérito perfecto” is so common

In everyday Spanish, ya often appears with pretérito perfecto (he/has/hemos + participle) to report a result that matters now.

• Ya hemos descrito la flora. (We’ve already described the flora.)

• Ya he reservado las entradas online. (I’ve already booked the tickets online.)

Common confusion: “ya no” is different

ya no means “no longer” (a change: before yes, now no). It is not the same as todavía no (“not yet”).

Ya no hemos comprado las entradas. (This sounds like “we used to have them bought and now we don’t”, which is not what you mean.)

Quick self-check (before you speak)

• If your English is already → Spanish is usually ya.

• If your English is still → Spanish is usually todavía.

• If your English is not yet → Spanish is usually todavía no.

• If your English is no longer → Spanish is ya no (different topic, but useful to recognize).