Spanish words “ya” and “todavía” – Learn and Practice

Welcome 😊 to our grammar lesson on Spanish words ya and todavía.

Both ya and todavía are adverbs. They have different meanings, but both of them have to do with time.

By the end of this lesson you will know the meanings of ya and todavía, and will be able to use them in sentences.

You will also find a Quiz and an Exercise to practice.

Meanings of “ya” and “todavía”

Here are the meanings of ya and todavía, including when they are followed by the word “no”:

Spanish	Meaning
ya	already yet (in questions)
ya no	no longer, not anymore
todavía	still
todavía no	not yet, still not

Placement

We can place ya and todavía in different spots, but typically they go before the verb.

If the verb is preceded by any object pronoun or reflexive pronoun (me, te, nos, se…), then we place ya and todavía before those pronouns.

Example sentences:

ya:

¿Ya has comprado las entradas?
Have you bought the tickets yet?

Sí, ya las he comprado.
Yes, I’ve already bought them.

ya no:

María ya no fuma.
María doesn’t smoke anymore.

Ya no los tenemos.
We no longer have them.

todavía:

Todavía vivo con mis padres.
I still live with my parents.

Pablo todavía se acuerda de sus amigos.
Pablo still remembers his friends.

todavía no:

¿Todavía no habéis llegado?
Have you guys not arrived yet?

Todavía no te lo han mandado.
They haven’t sent it to you yet.

Practice

Quiz

Take this short Quiz about “ya” and “todavía”:

Exercise 1

Fill the gaps choosing between “ya – ya no – todavía – todavía no”.

Click on the gray spaces to see the solutions:

1) ¿ Todavía vives con tus padres?
Do you still live with your parents?

2) No, ya no vivo con ellos.
No, I don’t live with them anymore.

3) Ya no estudio chino.
I no longer study Chinese.

4) Ellos todavía no han llegado.
They haven’t arrived yet.

Exercise 2

More sentences!:

5) Marta ya se ha duchado.
Marta has already showered.

6) ¿Habéis desayunado ya ?
Have you guys had breakfast yet?

7) No, todavía no hemos desayunado.
No, we haven’t had breakfast yet.

8) Pablo todavía trabaja en Argentina.
Pablo still works in Argentina.