још / већ

Already and Still

Level 1Sounds Like ǰoš; već u kratkom odgovoru

The words већ ('already') and још ('still / yet') mark whether an event has taken place or continues. In short answers, већ јесам means 'I already have', while још не or још нисам means 'not yet'.

How It Works

Two essential temporal particles in Serbian are већ and још. Getting comfortable with how they work in full sentences and conversational short answers will quickly make your speech sound natural.

1. Asking 'Have you ... yet?': Use већ
In English, we ask: Have you arrived yet? In Serbian, you use већ without needing any surprised tone:
• Да ли си већ стигао? (Have you arrived yet?)
• Јеси ли већ ручао? (Have you eaten lunch yet?)

2. Answering 'Not yet': Use још не / још нисам
When an action has not happened up to this point, use још with negation:
• Elliptical short answer: Још не. (Not yet.)
• With auxiliary negation: Још нисам. or Нисам још. (I haven't yet.)
Note the word order: standard Serbian is strictly још не, never *не још.

3. Answering 'Already': Past vs. Present Contexts
To give a short affirmative response like I already have to a past-tense question (or a question with бити), use већ with the stressed form of бити у презенту:
• Јеси ли већ ручао? — Већ јесам. or Јесам већ. (Have you had lunch already? — I already have.)
Remember that short clitic forms (сам, си, је) cannot stand alone or carry stress, so *Већ сам is ungrammatical.

However, бити is not a generic English 'do' auxiliary. If someone asks a question in the present tense with a lexical verb (e.g. Знаш ли већ? — Do you know already?), you cannot answer with *Већ јесам. Instead, repeat the verb or use a simple affirmative:
• Већ знам. (I already know.) or simply Да.

4. Meaning 'Still': још or још увек
Because још can also mean 'more' (e.g., још воде = more water), speakers often use још увек to clearly express 'still':
• Још увек чекам. (I am still waiting.)

Examples (4)

  1. — Јеси ли већ ручао? — Још не.

    — Have you had lunch yet? — Not yet.

    Word by Word: Are you already had-lunch? Still not.

    Questions use 'већ' for 'yet', and the natural negative short reply is 'још не'.

  2. — Да ли си гледао овај филм? — Већ јесам.

    — Have you seen this movie? — I already have.

    Word by Word: Whether are you watched this movie? Already I-am.

    In short affirmative answers, 'већ' pairs with the tonic auxiliary 'јесам' (not the short clitic 'сам').

  3. — Је ли Ана стигла? — Још није.

    — Has Ana arrived? — Not yet.

    Word by Word: Is Ana arrived? Still not-is.

    Using 'још' with the negated auxiliary 'није' indicates she hasn't arrived up to now.

  4. Они већ спавају, а ја још увек радим.

    They are already sleeping, but I am still working.

    Word by Word: They already sleep, and I still always work.

    Contrasts 'већ' (already) with 'још увек' (still).

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'још' instead of 'већ' in questions to mean 'yet'

    Јеси ли још завршио посао?
    Јеси ли већ завршио посао?

    English 'yet' translates to 'већ' in questions. Asking with 'још' sounds like asking 'Have you finished work additionally / again?'

  • Saying 'не још' as a direct translation of English 'not yet'

    Не још.
    Још не.

    In short negative replies the usual order is 'још не'. 'Не још' is a calque of English 'not yet' and sounds foreign.

  • Using the unstressed clitic 'сам' in a short answer instead of 'јесам'

    Већ сам.
    Већ јесам.

    Enclitics like 'сам' cannot carry stress or stand without a preceding host word in short elliptical answers. You must use the stressed auxiliary form 'јесам'.

How It Connects

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још / већLevel 1Already and Still

Learn This First

To use 'још' (still/yet) and 'већ' (already) in short answers, learners must be comfortable understanding yes/no questions and constructing simple affirmative and negative responses.

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Words in This Pattern

јошвећ