Azul
Position of adverbs Still, Just and Already in Present Perfect sentences Hi everyone. I've got a question regarding the possible positions that the adverbs "already" "just" and "still" can have in a sentence in Present Perfect. As far as I know, the most common ones are: I have ALREADY done it. (Between Auxiliar and Main verb) I STILL haven't made a decision. (After the subject) I have JUST spoken to her (Between Auxiliar and Main Verb) But I was wondering if it is correct to say: I ALREADY have done it. I haven't STILL made a decision. I JUST have spoken to her. Thanks in advance! "
4 июля 2019 г., 15:54
Ответы · 4
1
Hi Azul. I have ALREADY done it. (Between Auxiliar and Main verb)...Yes, this is the most common position for 'already'. As Claire says, you could also put it at the end of the sentence: "I've done it already." I STILL haven't made a decision. (After the subject) .....'still' is only before the auxiliary 'have' because you have (rightly) contracted 'have' and 'not' (making 'haven't'). The position of adverbs that usually come between the auxiliary and the main verb is often changed in the negative, because of using contractions. If you didn't use a contraction, the sentence would be "I have STILL not made a decision" (but this sounds a bit formal, so it's best to stick to 'haven't' and put STILL before it). There are other ways of doing this also, but I don't want to give you too much information and confuse you. Another example: I've STILL got another three files to finish. I STILL haven't finished the files. I have JUST spoken to her (Between Auxiliar and Main Verb)....correct. We would usually contract it to "I've JUST spoken to her" in speaking, and also in informal writing. But I was wondering if it is correct to say: I ALREADY have done it. .....incorrect. I haven't STILL made a decision....incorrect, because 'still' has to come before the negative of the verb (go (positive), not go (negative)....laugh (positive), not laugh (negative).....made (positive, past), not made (negative, past)). 'Still' shouldn't come between 'not' and 'made'. I JUST have spoken to her.....incorrect
4 июля 2019 г.
Hi Azul, this is my answer: 1. "I have already done it" or "I have done it already" are both correct, but yes you can put "already" between "I" and "have done it", the thing is that we don't often say it this way. 2. The better way to say it is "I still haven't made a decision", as yourself pointed out. In fact, "I haven't still made a decision" sounds quite weird to me. 3. Actually we don't say it this way in real life, so stick to "I have just spoken to her". Hope it helps!
4 июля 2019 г.
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