diġà

Already

Level 4

Diġà can precede a perfect event verb or occur between a past auxiliary and its perfect complement.

How It Works

Diġà means “already”. Preserve the dotted ġ and final grave accent. The adverb does not supply subject agreement; the finite predicate does. Before a perfect event verb, it highlights that the event has occurred by the relevant point. In konna diġà xtrajna, “we had already bought”, the auxiliary places that point in the past.

Completion need not be recent. Compare Rita diġà bagħtet ir-ritratti, “Rita has already sent the photographs”, with Rita għadha kemm bagħtet ir-ritratti, “Rita has just sent the photographs”. The first establishes attainment; the second highlights proximity to the reference time. English may use a present perfect or a simple past for a Maltese perfect, depending on context. Neither choice changes the adverb's “already” contribution.

Examples (3)

  1. Rita diġà bagħtet ir-ritratti.

    Rita has already sent the photographs.

    Sending is attained by the point under discussion.

  2. David diġà fetaħ il-ħanut.

    David has already opened the shop.

    The sentence does not specify how recently opening occurred.

  3. Aħna diġà xtrajna l-ħobż.

    We have already bought the bread.

    Xtrajna carries first-person plural agreement.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

diġàLevel 4Already

Learn This First

Introduce already as attainment by a reference point, without a fixed recentness interval. The auxiliary illustration extends that reference point into the past while leaving detailed anterior construction teaching to its own lesson.