هنوز، دیگر، تازه، قبلاً | Farsi Grammar

Persian هنوز، دیگر، تازه، قبلاً do more than locate an event on a clock. They compare the present situation with an earlier state or an expected change. هنوز کار می‌کند “she is still working” says the activity continues; دیگر کار نمی‌کند “she no longer works” says it has stopped; تازه شروع کرده است “she has just started” places the beginning very near now; قبلاً اینجا کار می‌کرد “she used to work here previously” locates it before the current reference time.

English uses still, yet, anymore, just, and before in several positions. Persian normally places these adverbs before the predicate or near the constituent whose time profile they modify.

Four temporal viewpoints

Adverb	Core viewpoint	Frequent partner	Default register
هنوز	a prior state continues, or an expected event has not happened yet	imperfective state/action; negative perfect	neutral
دیگر	a former state no longer continues	negative present	neutral/formal
تازه	an event has just occurred or a phase has only just begun	simple past or present perfect	neutral
قبلاً	the situation held at an earlier, contextually relevant time	past or present perfect	neutral/formal

مریم هنوز در کتابخانه درس می‌خواند.

Maryam hanuz dar ketâbkhâne dars mi-khânad.

Maryam is still studying in the library. (neutral; continuing activity)

مریم دیگر در آن کتابخانه کار نمی‌کند.

Maryam digar dar ân ketâbkhâne kâr nemi-konad.

Maryam no longer works at that library. (neutral; discontinued activity)

These adverbs carry presuppositions. هنوز assumes continuity from before or an unmet expectation; دیگر ... نمی‌ assumes the positive situation once held. Choosing one therefore tells the listener how the current fact relates to shared history.

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Think in transitions: هنوز P means “P continues”; هنوز نه-P means “the expected move to P has not occurred”; دیگر نه-P means “the earlier P has ended.”

هنوز: still and yet

With an affirmative state or imperfective action, هنوز means “still.” It presents the situation as continuing up to the reference time, often longer than expected.

ساعت ده است و بچه‌ها هنوز بیدارند.

sâ'at dah ast va bachche-hâ hanuz bidâr-and.

It is ten o'clock and the children are still awake. (neutral; continuing state)

با اینکه باران بند آمده است، خیابان هنوز خیس است.

bâ in-ke bârân band âmade ast, khiyâbân hanuz khis ast.

Although the rain has stopped, the street is still wet. (neutral; surviving result state)

With a negative perfect or past, هنوز means “not yet”: the speaker expects the event but says it has not occurred by the relevant deadline.

قطار هنوز نرسیده است.

qatâr hanuz na-reside ast.

The train has not arrived yet. (neutral; expected transition pending)

هنوز جواب ایمیلم را نداده‌اند.

hanuz javâb-e imeyl-am râ na-dâde-and.

They still haven't answered my email. (neutral; unmet expectation)

English sometimes puts yet at the end. Persian هنوز normally occurs before the negative predicate or early as a time frame, not as a copied sentence-final particle.

دیگر with negation: no longer, not anymore

Temporal دیگر commonly combines with a negative predicate to say that an earlier habit, state, or availability has ended. In careful writing it appears as دیگر; دیگه is its (informal, regional: Tehran) spoken counterpart.

این شماره دیگر فعال نیست.

in shomâre digar fa'âl nist.

This number is no longer active. (neutral/formal; ended state)

بعد از غروب دیگر از این مسیر اتوبوس نمی‌گذرد.

ba'd az ghorub digar az in masir otobus nemi-gozarad.

After sunset, buses no longer pass along this route. (neutral; ended availability)

من دیگه اون‌جا کار نمی‌کنم.

man dige un-jâ kâr nemi-konam.

I don't work there anymore. (informal, regional: Tehran)

Positive دیگر also means “other/another” or can mark a new phase, so negation is essential to the simple “no longer” reading. The pair دیگر نه has additional elliptical uses covered on هنوز نه and دیگر نه.

تازه: just now and only just

تازه places an event close to the reference time. With a completed event, it means “just/recently.” With an activity or state, it can mean “only just,” emphasizing that the new phase has barely begun.

تازه از سر کار برگشته‌ام.

tâze az sar-e kâr bar-gashte-am.

I have just returned from work. (neutral; recent completed event)

جلسه تازه شروع شده است؛ هنوز وقت داری.

jalase tâze shoru' shode ast; hanuz vaqt dâri.

The meeting has only just started; you still have time. (neutral conversation; new phase)

وقتی زنگ زدی، تازه نشسته بودیم شام بخوریم.

vaqti zang zadi, tâze neshaste budim shâm be-khorim.

When you called, we had just sat down to eat dinner. (neutral; recent relative to a past reference time)

Persian تازه is not always equivalent to English just. English just can mean “only” (فقط) or make a polite request softer; those meanings need different Persian words.

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Use تازه when recency or a newly begun phase matters. Use فقط for restriction: “only one ticket” is فقط یک بلیت, not تازه یک بلیت.

قبلاً: previously, before

قبلاً locates a state or event before the current reference time. It does not by itself say whether the situation continues now; the surrounding tense and contrast supply that information.

من قبلا این فیلم را دیده‌ام.

man qablan in film râ dide-am.

I have seen this film before. (neutral; prior experience, current relevance)

این ساختمان قبلا اداره‌ی پست بود.

in sâkhtemân qablan edâre-ye post bud.

This building used to be a post office. (neutral; earlier state contrasted with now)

The second sentence's past copula suggests that the state has ended. In the first, the present perfect presents prior experience as relevant now. The aspectual distinctions are developed under Present Perfect Uses.

Ordering and combinations

These words normally precede the predicate. Broad calendar time can come first: تا دیروز هنوز..., از امسال دیگر.... Two temporal adverbs can coexist if they answer different questions.

تا هفته‌ی پیش هنوز در آن خانه زندگی می‌کردند، اما حالا دیگر آنجا نیستند.

tâ hafte-ye pish hanuz dar ân khâne zendegi mi-kardand, ammâ hâlâ digar ân-jâ nistand.

Until last week they were still living in that house, but now they are no longer there. (neutral; explicit transition)

Common Mistakes

1. Using هنوز for a state that has ended

❌ او هنوز اینجا کار نمی‌کند و سال گذشته کارش را ترک کرد.

Incorrect for ‘no longer’ — the job once existed and has ended, so use دیگر.

✅ او دیگر اینجا کار نمی‌کند؛ پارسال رفت.

u digar injâ kâr nemi-konad; pârsâl raft.

She no longer works here; she left last year.

2. Leaving negation out of ‘not yet’

❌ قطار هنوز رسیده است.

Incorrect for ‘the train has not arrived yet’ — هنوز needs a negative perfect in that reading.

✅ قطار تا این لحظه هنوز نرسیده است.

qatâr tâ in lahze hanuz na-reside ast.

The train has still not arrived as of this moment.

3. Using تازه for restrictive ‘only’

❌ تازه دو صندلی خالی مانده است.

Incorrect for ‘only two seats remain’ — تازه expresses recency, while restriction requires فقط.

✅ فقط دو صندلی خالی مانده است.

faqat do sandali-ye khâli mânde ast.

Only two seats remain.

4. Treating قبلاً as proof that the state ended

❌ قبلا او را می‌شناختم، پس حتما الان نمی‌شناسمش.

Incorrect inference — قبلاً only establishes an earlier time; it does not itself deny continuation.

✅ قبلا او را می‌شناختم و هنوز هم با او در تماس هستم.

qablan u râ mi-shenâkhtam va hanuz ham bâ u dar tamâs hastam.

I knew her before, and I am still in contact with her.

Key Takeaways

هنوز marks continuation or, with negation, an expected event that has not happened yet.
دیگر ... نمی‌/نیست says that an earlier situation has ended: “no longer/not anymore.”
تازه marks recency or a newly begun phase; it does not replace restrictive فقط.
قبلاً establishes an earlier reference time without necessarily denying continuation.
Place these adverbs before the predicate; use broader time frames and explicit contrasts to clarify the transition.

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