Jam, ankoraŭ, and plu locate a situation relative to change. Jam says that a relevant threshold has been reached. Ankoraŭ says that an earlier situation continues at the reference time. Ne plu says that a situation which held before has ended. Their English translations—“already,” “still/yet,” and “no longer”—are useful, but the timeline relation is the reliable rule.
All three are primitive adverbs: their final letters are part of the word, not grammatical endings. They do not take agreement. Their placement close to the predicate or focused constituent normally reveals their scope.
The four-way timeline
Imagine checking whether Lea is at work at noon:
| Esperanto | Relation to change | Natural English |
|---|---|---|
| Lea jam laboras. | the start has occurred | Lea is already working. |
| Lea ankoraŭ laboras. | earlier work continues | Lea is still working. |
| Lea ankoraŭ ne laboras. | the expected start has not occurred | Lea is not working yet. |
| Lea ne plu laboras. | earlier work has ended | Lea is no longer working. |
The difference is not tense. Any of these relations can be located in the past, present, or future. What changes is which phase of the situation is relevant.
Jam: the threshold has been reached
Jam presents an event, state, quantity, or point as reached by the reference time. It often implies “earlier than one might have expected,” but surprise is contextual rather than obligatory.
Kiam mi alvenis, la aliaj jam komencis manĝi.
When I arrived, the others had already started eating.
La infano jam povas legi sen helpo.
The child can already read without help.
Estas jam la deka; ni devas ekiri.
It is ten already; we have to set off.
With a duration or repeated count, jam says the accumulated measure has reached the stated amount.
Mi jam tri jarojn laboras en ĉi tiu biblioteko.
I have been working in this library for three years already.
Esperanto uses the present tense here because the work still holds now; jam tri jarojn measures the duration reached. English instead normally uses a perfect construction.
Ankoraŭ: continuity from before
Ankoraŭ looks backward: the situation was true before and remains true at the reference time. It can concern a state, an ongoing action, a remaining quantity, or an unanswered expectation.
La apoteko ankoraŭ estas malfermita.
The pharmacy is still open.
Ĉu vi ankoraŭ atendas respondon de la banko?
Are you still waiting for a reply from the bank?
Restas ankoraŭ du liberaj lokoj.
There are still two free places left.
Before negation, ankoraŭ ne means that an expected change has not happened up to now: “not yet.” English places “yet” later, so English speakers often copy the wrong order into Esperanto.
La rezultoj ankoraŭ ne aperis en la retejo.
The results have not appeared on the website yet.
— Ĉu vi jam sendis la formularon? — Ne, ankoraŭ ne; mankas unu subskribo.
— Have you sent the form yet? — No, not yet; one signature is missing.
The question uses jam to ask whether the threshold has been reached. The negative answer uses ankoraŭ ne to say it has not been reached so far.
Ankoraŭ also has an additive use: ankoraŭ unu taso “one more cup,” ankoraŭ pli bona “even better,” ankoraŭ du minutoj “two more minutes.” The common thread is extension beyond what was already present.
Ni atendu ankoraŭ kvin minutojn, kaj poste ni foriru.
Let us wait five more minutes, and then leave.
Plu and ne plu: continuation forward, or its end
Positive plu looks forward from a reference point and means “further/on/continuing.” Ankoraŭ emphasizes that the earlier situation remains; plu emphasizes its continuation beyond now. In many contexts both are possible, but the viewpoint differs.
Mi ankoraŭ loĝas en Tuluzo, kaj mi plu loĝos ĉi tie post la somero.
I still live in Toulouse, and I will continue living here after the summer.
Malgraŭ la pluvo, la muzikistoj plu ludis.
Despite the rain, the musicians kept playing.
With negation, the standard transparent order is ne plu: continuation is denied, so a formerly true situation has ceased.
La malnova pasvorto ne plu funkcias.
The old password no longer works.
Mi ne plu trinkas kafon vespere, ĉar ĝi malhelpas min dormi.
I no longer drink coffee in the evening because it keeps me from sleeping.
Older and attested writing sometimes has plu ne with the intended meaning “no longer.” That order can logically suggest “continue not doing,” however, and modern pedagogical usage should prefer unambiguous ne plu for cessation. This is a recommendation about clarity, not a claim that historical examples never occur.
Jam ne and ne plu
Jam ne and ne plu can describe the same real-world transition, but they package it differently. Jam ne highlights that the negative state has now been reached—“already not/by now not.” Ne plu directly denies continuation—“no longer.”
Je la sesa la butiko jam ne estis malfermita.
By six, the shop was already not open.
Je la sesa la butiko ne plu estis malfermita.
At six, the shop was no longer open.
The second is the neutral choice when the intended message is simply that opening hours had ended. The first can make the changed negative state itself contrastive, especially when it occurred sooner than expected.
Placement and focused constituents
These particles normally precede their focus. Most often that is the predicate: jam venis, ankoraŭ dormas, ne plu vendas. They can instead focus a time, quantity, or noun phrase.
Jam en Majo la hotelo estis plene rezervita.
As early as May, the hotel was fully booked.
Here jam focuses en Majo, presenting May as an unexpectedly early threshold. Compare En Majo la hotelo jam estis plene rezervita, where the state of being fully booked had already been reached by May.
Do not confuse plu “further/continuing” with pli “more, to a higher degree.” Mi plu laboros means “I will continue working”; mi pli laboros means “I will work more” by amount or intensity.
For the wider placement system, see Adverb Position.
Common Mistakes
1. Copying English not ... yet
❌ La trajno ne alvenis jam.
Incorrect for ‘has not arrived yet’: Esperanto uses ankoraŭ ne.
✅ La trajno ankoraŭ ne alvenis.
The train has not arrived yet.
2. Reversing ne plu
⚠️ Mi plu ne uzas tiun programon.
Attested but best avoided for neutral ‘no longer’: the order can suggest continuing not to use it.
✅ Mi ne plu uzas tiun programon.
I no longer use that program.
3. Confusing plu with pli
❌ Ni pli atendos ĝis la kuracisto venos.
Incorrect for ‘we will keep waiting’: pli means a greater amount or degree.
✅ Ni plu atendos ĝis la kuracisto venos.
We will keep waiting until the doctor comes.
4. Using jam for a still-continuing state
❌ Ĉu vi jam loĝas ĉe la sama adreso?
Wrong for the intended ‘Do you still live at the same address?’: jam asks whether living there has begun.
✅ Ĉu vi ankoraŭ loĝas ĉe la sama adreso?
Do you still live at the same address?
5. Adding agreement to a primitive adverb
❌ La infanoj ankoraŭj dormas.
Incorrect: ankoraŭ is invariable and never takes plural -j.
✅ La infanoj ankoraŭ dormas.
The children are still sleeping.
Key Takeaways
Jam marks a reached threshold, ankoraŭ preserves a prior state, ankoraŭ ne says an expected change has not happened yet, and ne plu says a former state has ended. Positive plu projects continuation forward, while ankoraŭ views continuity from what was already true. Keep the particles invariable and close to their focus, and prefer ne plu for a clear modern expression of “no longer.”
Related Topics
- Time AdverbsB1 — Place events in time with Esperanto primitive particles and productive -e forms, including precise contrasts such as ĵus, tuj, and lunde.
- Primitive AdverbsA2 — Use Esperanto's endingless adverb-like particles for time, place, degree, focus, and logical connection.
- Adverb PositionA2 — Place adverbs for clear scope, natural information flow, and deliberate focus in Esperanto clauses.
- Adverb Scope and AmbiguityC1 — Control which word, phrase, or proposition an Esperanto adverb modifies through placement, punctuation, and explicit restructuring.
- Nur and EĉB2 — Place nur before what is restricted and eĉ before what is presented as an unexpected extreme.