Grammar › Adverbs › もう・まだ

Grammar · already / still

もう・まだ

A matched pair for where an action stands in time. もう looks at a change that's done; まだ at a state that's still going — or still hasn't started.

The short version

もう = "already" (with a positive verb) or "not anymore" (with a negative). まだ = "still" (something continues) or "not yet" (with a negative). The N5 pair to nail: もう〜ました ("already did") vs まだ〜ていません ("haven't yet").

もう食たべました — already ate
まだ食たべていません — haven't eaten yet (not ×食べませんでした)

もう — "already", "no longer"

もう points at a change that has taken place. With a positive past it's "already"; with a negative it flips to "not anymore".

I've already decided the name. (もう + past = "already done")
▶ Haru no Nihongo · EP_326 · 10:13 — hear it →

まだ — "still"

With a positive verb or a bare state, まだ means the situation is ongoing — it hasn't changed yet.

I'm still waiting on the results. (まだ = "still, as before")
▶ Yahho! ゆるジャパ · フリートーク · 4:42 — hear it →

まだ〜ていない — "not yet"

Here's the one that trips people up. "Haven't done it yet" uses the ている negative — the state of "not-having-done" is still going — not the past negative.

I haven't bought it yet. (まだ + 買っていない, casually 買ってない)
▶ Haru no Nihongo · EP-323 · 1:11 — hear it →
There are some I haven't even opened yet. (まだ〜てない = "still not (done)")
▶ やさしい日本語じかん · 引越し · 23:06 — hear it →

Watch out

🗣 もう on its own = "enough already!" Drawn out, a standalone もう becomes an exasperated interjection — "ugh, come on". And casual speech clips ていない to てない: まだ寝ねてない ("still not asleep"), まだ食たべてない ("haven't eaten yet").
"Not yet" ≠ past negative. "I haven't eaten yet" is 食たべていません (state ongoing), never ×食べませんでした ("didn't eat", a closed past event). And to answer もう食べましたか ("have you eaten yet?") in the negative, say いいえ、まだです ("no, not yet") — the handy short form.
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