Yet/Still/Already in Negative Questions

Question

Hello,I'd like to ask which of the following sentences are acceptable, and whether/to what extent their meanings differ (my interpretation/comments in brackets):1) Hasn't he finished yet? (= I'm surprised he hasn't finished yet.)2) Hasn't he finished already? (= impossible?)3) Hasn't he still finished? (= I'm surprised he still hasn't finished; probably impossible?)4) Why hasn't he finished yet? (just asking)5) Why hasn't he still finished? (perhaps showing more impatience, if possible at all)6) Why hasn't he already finished/finished already? (possible or not?)Many thanks in advance!P.

GPY · Accepted Answer

The only ones that sound natural to me are (1) and (4).

These are also possible: "He still hasn't finished", "He has still not finished", "Why has he still not finished?"

Petusek · Answer

Thank you!

Yes, I'm aware both "yet" and "still" are possible in statements (the latter expressing more impatience, perhaps). As to "Why has he still not finished?", I didn't include that supposing it was too formal or maybe more emphatic (though possible, of course).

I just wasn't sure about negative questions, because my native language employs fewer words to express similar concepts.

To sum up, could we say that...

STILL can be used in affirmative statements, negative statements, affirmative questions and negative WH-questions
YET can be used in negative statements (affirmative statements are possible, but contextually/stylistically more constrained), negative questions (both WH-questions and YES/NO-questions)
ALREADY is restricted to affirmative statements and affirmative questions (the latter expressing surprise as opposed to the "neutral" YET-questions)

...?
Hm, now I realize those were all present perfect sentences. How about present continuous then?

7) He isn't waiting here anymore. ? Why isn't he waiting here anymore? (seems alright)
8) He isn't waiting here yet. ? Why isn't he waiting here yet? (seems alright)
9 He still isn't waiting here. ? Why isn't he still waiting here? (not only seems odd, but I'm not sure whether it's meaning is related to 7, or 8)

10) Isn't he waiting here anymore? (sounds odd)
11) Isn't he still waiting here yet? (i.e. I thought he was already waiting there.)
12) Isn't he still waiting here? (i.e. I thought he was still waiting there.)

Again, many thanks for any comments! :-)

P.

GPY · Answer

petusekSTILL can be used in affirmative statements, negative statements, affirmative questions and negative WH-questionsYET can be used in negative statements (affirmative statements are possible, but contextually/stylistically more constrained), negative questions (both WH-questions and YES/NO-questions)ALREADY is restricted to affirmative statements and affirmative questions (the latter expressing surprise as opposed to the "neutral" YET-questions)

A couple of things that come to mind:

"still" can also be used in negative YES/NO questions, e.g. "Have you still not finished?"

"yet" can also be used in affirmative YES/NO questions, e.g. "Have you finished yet?"

"already" can be used in conditional negatives; e.g. "You should visit London if you haven't already".

petusek7) He isn't waiting here anymore. ? Why isn't he waiting here anymore? (seems alright)8) He isn't waiting here yet. ? Why isn't he waiting here yet? (seems alright)9 He still isn't waiting here. ? Why isn't he still waiting here? (not only seems odd, but I'm not sure whether it's meaning is related to 7, or 8)10) Isn't he waiting here anymore? (sounds odd)11) Isn't he still waiting here yet? (i.e. I thought he was already waiting there.)12) Isn't he still waiting here? (i.e. I thought he was still waiting there.)Again, many thanks for any comments! :-)

(7) to (10) are grammatically OK, but in practice don't seem massively likely things to say. This is more because of the specific examples with "wait" than the patterns per se. "not ... any more" would typically be used for cessation of long-term habit. "He still isn't waiting here" suggests that "waiting here" is something you've been wanting/expecting him to do for some time, which is a bit unusual.

The simultaneous use of "still" and "yet" in (11) is not right.

(12) is OK.

Yet/Still/Already in Negative Questions

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