Japanese Learning: Two Adverbs, one for “have already done”, and the other for “have not yet done”: Mou [Verb] mashita/ Mada desu.

Adverbs are words that give some information to verbs and adjectives. Today, we are learning two adverbs; one is like “already” in English, and the other is like “not yet”. Look at the following conversations;

A : Mou, Ohiru-gohan o Tabemashitaka. (Have you already eaten your lunch?)

B1 : Hai, Mou Tabemashita. (Yes, I have.)

B2 : Iie, Mada desu. (No, not yet.)

B1 and B2 are different answers. I often call “V+mashita” a past tense, but as you see in this conversation, “V+mashita” can also be a perfect tense. And the adverb “Mada” doesn’t seem to modify any verbs in this sentence. “Mada” is a predicate in the sentence B2. The best expression for B2 is;

B2’ : Iie, Mata Tabete Imasen. (No, I haven’t eaten yet.)

But in order to say “Tabete Imasen”, you need to have a knowledge about “Te-form” which is a one of verb conjugations. Let us learn “V-te Iru” later. Anyway, there are some adverbs that can be a predicate of a sentence. “Mada” in B2 is this kind.

Practice and remember the following conversations;

A : Mou Repohto o Kakimashitaka. (Have you already written a report?)

B : Hai, Mou Kakimashita. (Yes, I have already written it.)

A : Ja, Mou Sensei ni Dashimasitaka. (Well, then, have you already submitted it to your teacher?)

B : Iie, Mada desu. (No, not yet.)

<この投稿は“スリーエーネットワーク、みんなの日本語 初級I 第2版, 第7課A6”の内容を参照しています。>