already
- 01 A2 Elementary
before a particular time, or before the present moment.
prior to a specified or implied time; used to indicate that a state or action already exists or has occurred.
Simple“I have already finished my homework, so I can go out now.”
In context“By the time the rescue team arrived at the remote cabin, the hikers had already managed to start a fire and stabilize the injured party.”
UsageTypically placed between the auxiliary verb and the main verb, or at the end of a clause for emphasis.
PitfallI already have seen that movie. I have already seen that movie.In the present perfect tense, 'already' usually goes between the auxiliary verb 'have' and the past participle.
Synonyms - 02 B1 Intermediate
used to show surprise that something happened earlier than expected.
indicates surprise or emphasis regarding the early occurrence of an event relative to expectations.
Simple“Are you leaving already? You only just got here.”
In context“The director was shocked to find that the budget had been exhausted already, despite the project being only halfway through its initial phase.”
UsageOften placed at the end of a question or a statement to express disbelief.
- 03 C2 Proficiency
used to show that an action is finished.
functions as a perfective aspect marker to indicate the completion of an action or a change in state.
Simple“I eat already, so I am not hungry.”
In context“In local colloquial usage, a speaker might say 'He go already' to indicate that the person has departed, rather than using the past perfect.”
Teacher's tipThis usage is characteristic of Singlish (Singapore English) and some other regional dialects; it replaces standard tense markers.
already vs all ready — Already marks time to show something happened sooner than expected, while all ready describes a subject that is completely prepared.
already vs yet — Already marks an action as completed sooner than anticipated, while yet indicates an action is expected but has not happened by the present moment.
already vs just — Just marks an action that happened a moment ago, while already marks an action that happened earlier than expected.
Usage already begun · already made · already knew
From Middle English alredy (“fully; already”), equivalent to al- (“all, completely”) + ready. Cognate with West Frisian alreeds (“already”), Dutch alreeds (“already”), Afrikaans alreeds (“already”), Middle Low German alreide, alreids ("already"; whence modern German Low German alreeds (“already”)), Danish allerede (“already”), Swedish allaredan (“already”), Norwegian Nynorsk allereie (“already”). More at all, ready. The use as an intensifier in American English is a semantic loan from Yiddish שוין (shoyn), attested from 1903. In Singapore English, the use of already as a marker of action completion and change of state is analogous to Hokkien 了 (liáu), Teochew 了 (liao²) and Mandarin 了 (le). Compare Malay (su)dah and Cantonese 咗 (zo²), 喇 (laa³).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.