már and még: Contrasts and Learner Traps

Choosing between már and még is choosing a viewpoint on change. Már places the reference time after a relevant boundary; még places it before that boundary or inside a continuing state. The familiar glosses “already” and “still” are useful only when they preserve that logic. This page tests the difficult edges; the forms page gives the core grid and the usage page develops typical contexts.

The same scene from opposite sides

Consider a shop whose opening and closing times are known.

The proposition nyitva van is the same; what changes is the reference point relative to opening or closing. Már does not inherently mean “early,” and még does not inherently mean “late.” Those impressions come from expectations about when the boundary should occur.

Már nem versus még nem

This minimal pair reverses temporal direction.

The first presupposes an earlier Budapest period. The second makes a future move relevant or expected. Without such an expectation, plain János nem él Budapesten is the neutral fact “János does not live in Budapest.”

With abilities, the contrast can be especially consequential:

English learners sometimes treat both as “not ... yet” because both contain negation near a time particle. The presupposed history proves they are opposites.

Már versus éppen

Már says that a boundary has been reached by the relevant time. Éppen locates an event precisely now or presents it as in progress. They may coexist.

The first reassures someone that the delayed departure boundary is being crossed. The second zooms in on the event's timing. In the third, már strengthens the sense that departure was at hand, while éppen pinpoints the interrupted phase.

Még versus továbbra is

Both can translate “still.” Még is the ordinary particle and readily carries expectation. Továbbra is explicitly says that a situation continues unchanged and is common in announcements and reports (neutral/formal).

In a formal notice, Az út továbbra is zárva van emphasizes maintained status. Az út még zárva van is also correct but more readily suggests that reopening is expected. The difference is pragmatic, not a hard tense rule.

Még egy versus egy másik

Még egy adds one item to the current quantity. Egy másik selects a different item, often instead of the first. English “another” covers both.

The first increases the chair count. The second can leave the count unchanged by replacing the broken chair. Még egy másik szék is possible when both addition and difference matter, but ordinary requests rarely need both.

Már csak versus még csak

Már csak views a shrinking remainder; még csak views an unexpectedly early or limited stage.

In the first, progress has reduced the remaining work to three chapters. In the second, progress has reached only three. The number alone cannot decide whether three is encouraging or disappointing; the particle sequence chooses the scale.

Notice percünk “our minutes” versus öt perce “for five minutes/for five minutes now.” The surrounding morphology also helps determine whether the number is a remainder or elapsed duration.

Questions: already, yet, or still?

English “yet” in a question often corresponds to Hungarian már, because the speaker tests whether a positive change has happened.

Már megjött a vonat? can sound surprised that it arrived so soon. Megjött már a vonat? is often a less marked status question, though intonation can still express impatience. Még nem jött meg a vonat? asks “Hasn't the train arrived yet?” and makes the expected boundary more prominent.

Scope and information structure

Compare event updating with scalar inclusion:

In the first, már updates the status of solving. In the second, még ... is surrounds the focused participant and places him at a surprising point on a scale. The capitals show teaching stress only. Moving még without tracking is destroys the intended “even” structure.

With quantities, még normally precedes the entire constituent: még három hosszú nap, not három még hosszú nap. Contrastive reordering is possible in poetry or correction, but it is not the productive learner pattern.

Lexicalized combinations

Máris is one word meaning “already/right away”: Máris indulok “I'm leaving right away.” Mégis is also one word, but means “nevertheless/after all,” not “still” plus a freely scoped is. Még mindig remains two words and emphasizes persistence. Már megint remains two words and commonly conveys annoyed recurrence.

Spelling is meaning here: még is may be possible only when free még and free is have independently recoverable scope; it cannot replace lexical mégis.

Impatience and register

Válaszolj már! presses for a delayed response (informal). Még válaszolj! instead sounds incomplete unless még adds another response/action in a special context. In professional writing, use a deadline or polite modal rather than urging már: Kérem, péntekig válaszoljon. (formal/polite)

Decision tree

1. Has the relevant change happened? Use már.
2. Does the old positive state continue? Use még.
3. Has a former state ended? Use már nem.
4. Has an expected state not begun? Use még nem.
5. Are you adding quantity? Use még + amount.
6. Are you describing what remains now? Use már csak.
7. Are you describing limited progress so far? Use még csak.
8. Are you urging a delayed action? Use informal már with careful tone.

Diagnostic exercise

Choose már or még and explain the boundary.

1. A vendégek _ elmentek. Their presence has ended → már.
2. A vendégek _ itt vannak. Their presence continues → még.
3. A jelentés _ nem készült el. Completion is pending → még.
4. A régi belépőkártya _ nem érvényes. Validity has ended → már.
5. Kérek _ két percet. Added quantity → még.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• Már and még impose opposite viewpoints on the same boundary.
• Plain negation states a fact; már nem presupposes an ended state, and még nem anticipates a future one.
• Még egy adds; egy másik replaces or differentiates.
• Már csak measures a remainder; még csak measures limited progress.
• English “yet” in positive-boundary questions frequently maps to már.
• Máris and mégis are lexicalized one-word forms with distinct meanings.