Ya, ya no, todavía, todavía no: the four combinations
Ya means "already", or "right now". Ya no means "not anymore". Todavía means "still", and todavía no means "not yet". In Peru ya usually pairs with the pretérito — ¿Ya almorzaste? — where Spain would say ¿ya has almorzado? Ya also works on its own as a filler meaning "fine", "right", "got it".
Draft copy. Every claim needs a native-speaker check before publishing — the byline is what makes this citable, so it has to be earned.
Four boxes, not two words
Ya and todavía are opposites, and each one flips again when you negate it. That gives four, and each has its own English translation.
| affirmative | negative | |
|---|---|---|
| ya | ya — already | ya no — not anymore |
| todavía | todavía — still | todavía no — not yet |
- Ya terminé. — I’ve already finished.
- Ya no trabajo ahí. — I don’t work there anymore.
- Todavía vivo en Miraflores. — I still live there.
- Todavía no ha llegado. — He hasn’t arrived yet.
The pair that gets swapped is ya no and todavía no. Ya no means the thing was true and stopped. Todavía no means it has not started yet. They point in opposite directions.
They also answer each other in conversation:
— ¿Todavía trabajas en el banco? — No, ya no.
— ¿Ya llegaste? — Todavía no.
The Peru part: ya + pretérito
In Spain, ya pulls the present perfect after it: ¿ya has comido? In Peru that same question is almost always the pretérito.
| Spain | Peru |
|---|---|
| ¿Ya has almorzado? | ¿Ya almorzaste? |
| ¿Ya has pagado? | ¿Ya pagaste? |
| Ya he terminado. | Ya terminé. |
Both are grammatical. Only one sounds like Lima. If you learned ya alongside the present perfect from a European course book, this is the single swap that makes the word sound native.
Todavía no leans the other way and keeps the perfect more often — todavía no ha llegado, todavía no lo he visto — but todavía no llegó is just as common in speech.
Ya on its own
This is where ya stops being a time word and becomes one of the most-used words in Peruvian conversation.
- Ya. — OK. Fine. Agreed. The default answer to almost any suggestion.
- Ya pues. — come on, go on then. Softer or more insistent depending entirely on the tone.
- Ya está. — that’s it, it’s done.
- Ya voy. / Ya vengo. — I’m coming / I’ll be right back. Note that ya vengo means you are leaving, not arriving.
- Ya casi. — almost there.
- Ya va. — hang on a second.
- Ah, ya. — oh, right. The sound of someone understanding you.
None of these translate as “already”. They are all doing the other job of ya: marking the present moment.
Ya que — since
Ya plus que gives a reason. It is the everyday alternative to porque when the reason is already known to both of you.
- Ya que no hay pasaje, vamos a pie.
- Ya que estás acá, ayúdame con esto.
It is not the same as ya, and it does not mean “already that”. Treat it as its own two-word unit.
Try it
- — ¿___ terminaste la tarea? — No, ___.
- Antes fumaba, pero ___ fumo.
- Mi abuela ___ lee mucho. (still)
- ___ no hay tiempo, lo dejamos para mañana. (since)
→ 1 Ya / todavía no · 2 ya no · 3 todavía · 4 Ya que.
Related
- The present perfect — and why Peru uses it less than Spain — the tense ya replaces here
- What does “ya pe” mean in Peruvian Spanish? — ya once it has stopped meaning “already” altogether
- Alguna vez, nunca, jamás — the other half of the time-marker set
Topics The pastPeruvian SpanishJoining ideas
Ya, ya no, todavía or todavía no?
Eight on the four boxes, plus the ya that has nothing to do with "already".
-
1— ¿Ya terminaste la tarea? — No, ___.
Answer
todavía no — *Todavía no* is “not yet” — it has not happened, but it still might. *Ya no* would mean you have given up on it altogether.
-
2“I don't work there anymore” is:
Answer
Ya no trabajo ahí. — *Ya no* marks something that was true and has stopped. *Todavía no trabajo ahí* would mean you have not started there yet.
-
3Mi abuela ___ lee mucho, a sus noventa años.
Answer
todavía — *Todavía* in an affirmative sentence is “still”. The sentence is saying the reading has carried on, which is the point of mentioning her age.
-
4In Lima, the usual way to ask “have you eaten yet?” is:
Answer
¿Ya comiste? — Peru puts *ya* with the pretérito where Spain uses the present perfect. *¿Ya has comido?* is grammatical everywhere but sounds European.
-
5___ no hay pasaje, vamos a pie.
Answer
Ya que — *Ya que* means “since”, giving a reason both speakers already know. It is a fixed two-word unit and has nothing to do with *ya* meaning “already”.
-
6Someone says “ya vengo” and walks off. It means:
Answer
I'll be right back. — *Ya vengo* is said by the person leaving, not arriving — the coming referred to is the coming back. *Ya voy* is the opposite: I'm on my way to you.
-
7Antes fumaba, pero ___ fumo.
Answer
ya no — *Ya no* — the habit existed and then stopped, which is exactly what *antes* set up. *Todavía no fumo* would suggest you are planning to start.
-
8“Ya casi” means:
Answer
Almost. — *Ya casi* is “almost there” — the standard answer when someone asks whether you have arrived or finished. It is one of the *ya* expressions that carries no sense of “already”.