nog vs al vs alreeds (still/already)

English scatters this little corner of grammar across four unrelated words — still, already, not yet, no longer — and learners of Afrikaans keep reaching for the wrong one. Afrikaans is far tidier: it has a small, logical system built from two ideas, continuation and completion, each in a positive and a negative version. Get the underlying logic and you will never again hesitate between nog and al. This page sorts the everyday choice; the finer points of aspect are developed on al and reeds aspect.

The two core words: nog and al

Nog means still — the action or state is continuing, it has not stopped. Al (and its more formal twin alreeds, plus the bookish reeds) means already — the action has happened by now, sooner than you might expect. That is the whole foundation: nog looks at something ongoing, al looks at something completed-by-now.

These two sentences are the anchors of the system. Sy slaap nog says the sleeping carries on. Ek het al geëet says the eating is done, and done already. (Note the spelling geëet — ge- plus eet needs the diaeresis on the second e so the vowels are read separately; geeet is wrong.)

al, alreeds, reeds — same meaning, different register

These three all mean "already", and you can usually swap them without changing the sense. They differ only in tone. Al is the everyday spoken form. Alreeds is a touch more emphatic or careful. Reeds is more formal and written, common in news and official prose. For ordinary conversation, reach for al.

The first is how you'd say it to a friend on the platform; the second is how a news report would phrase it. They mean the same thing — only the register differs. More on this distinction lives on reeds and al.

The negatives: nog nie and nie meer

Now add negation, and the system completes itself. The negative of nog ("still") is nog nie ("not yet") — the awaited thing has not happened, but is still expected. The negative of al ("already") in the sense of a stopped situation is nie meer ("no longer / not anymore") — the thing used to be true but has ceased. Both, being negatives, also carry the obligatory closing nie at the end of the clause; see the closing nie.

Nog nie ... nie frames an expectation that is still pending — he hasn't come, but we're still waiting. Nie meer ... nie marks a situation that has ended — we used to live there, and now we don't. Watch the double nie: one carries the negation, the second closes the clause, exactly as in any Afrikaans negative sentence.

The whole system as a 2x2

Here is the insight that English never lets you see, because it hides these four meanings behind four unrelated words. Afrikaans organises them on two axes: continue vs cease, crossed with positive vs negative. Lay it out and the logic is unmistakable.

Read the grid as pairs. The top row is about a situation that is or could still be going: nog (it is going) and nog nie (it hasn't started yet but is still expected). The bottom row is about a threshold already crossed: al (it has happened already) and nie meer (it has stopped). Once you can place an English sentence into one of these four cells, the Afrikaans word chooses itself.

That last sentence runs the whole bottom row in one breath: al klaar (already done) and nie meer (no longer). The phrase al klaar ("already finished / all done") is worth banking on its own — it is the everyday way to say a task is completed ahead of time.

Mapping the English words — where learners slip

The trouble is that English's four words do not line up one-to-one with feeling, so transfer goes wrong. Pin them down:

• still → nog
• already → al / reeds
• yet (in questions and negatives) → al in questions, nog nie in negatives
• anymore / no longer → nie meer

The trap is yet. English uses one word for two cells: "Has it arrived yet?" (question — Afrikaans al) versus "It hasn't arrived yet" (negative — Afrikaans nog nie). Afrikaans never lets these blur.

Same English word yet, two different Afrikaans cells — al in the question, nog nie in the answer. Map by meaning (question vs negative), not by the English word.

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• The system rests on one contrast: nog = still / continuing, al = already / completed-by-now.
• al, alreeds, reeds all mean "already" — choose by register: al everyday, reeds formal/written (see reeds and al).
• The negatives complete a clean 2x2: nog nie ("not yet", awaited) and nie meer ("no longer", ceased) — both keep the obligatory closing nie.
• English yet splits in two: al in questions, nog nie ... nie in negatives — map by meaning, not by the English word.
• Spell the participle geëet with a diaeresis; geeet is wrong.