Time: もう / まだ

もう and まだ are two of the smallest, most common words in Japanese — and between them they cover four separate English notions: already, not anymore, still, and not yet. The reason two words can do the work of four is that each one changes meaning depending on the polarity of the verb it sits with. That gives you a clean two-by-two grid, and once you can see it, もう and まだ stop being a source of confusion and become one of the tidiest patterns in the language.

The 2×2 grid

Everything about もう and まだ lives in this table. Learn it as a shape, not as four separate rules:

Notice how differently the two languages package this. English scatters the job across four unrelated words — already, anymore, still, yet — and each has its own placement quirks (yet wants the end of the sentence, still wants the middle, anymore needs a negative). Japanese localizes the whole system into two adverbs plus the polarity of the verb. You are not memorizing four words; you are memorizing two, and then reading the verb's ending to see which corner of the grid you're in. That is a big economy — but it's also why beginners stall here: the meaning isn't in the adverb alone, it's in the adverb and the ending working together.

もう + positive = "already"

もう with a positive verb says the change has happened — the thing is done, reached, complete.

もう + negative = "not anymore / no longer"

Keep もう ("the change is reached") but make the verb negative, and you get "the situation has changed to not-doing" — no longer, not anymore.

まだ + positive = "still"

まだ with a positive verb says the state is continuing — unchanged, going on.

まだ + negative = "not yet"

まだ ("still, unchanged") plus a negative verb gives "the change hasn't happened yet" — not yet. This is the standard Japanese way to say "haven't done it yet," and it has one wrinkle worth pinning down.

In conversation: もう…？ and the まだ answer

This pair powers one of the most frequent little exchanges in daily Japanese. A もう…？ question ("…yet?") is answered either with a positive (もう…, "yes, already") or, crucially, with まだ ("not yet") — where まだ can stand completely alone.

もう and まだ beyond the grid

Two useful extensions once the core grid is solid.

First, もう has a second life meaning "(a bit) more / another" — もう少し ("a little more," on the quantity page), もう一つ ("one more"), もう一度 ("once more"). It also fronts もうすぐ ("soon, any moment now"), where it shades toward "at this point / now." These are the same word pointing at imminence rather than completion — context keeps them apart from the "already" もう.

Second, まだ attaches happily to nouns and な-adjectives, not just verbs — まだ大丈夫 ("still okay"), まだ学生 ("still a student"), まだ無理 ("still no good / not possible yet"). The "state continuing" logic carries straight over.

Common mistakes

Mistake 1 — Reversing the pair. English speakers sometimes map まだ to "already" or もう to "still." They are opposites: もう is change reached, まだ is state continuing.

Mistake 2 — "Not yet" with a plain past negative. "Haven't eaten yet" is a present state, so it needs 〜ていない, not the past negative 〜なかった.

Mistake 3 — まだ for "not anymore." English "not a child anymore" tempts learners toward まだ, but "no longer" is a change, so it takes もう.

Mistake 4 — Answering a もう…？ question with a past negative. To "Have you eaten yet?" the natural negative reply is まだです, not 食べませんでした (which answers a different, past-event question).

Key takeaways

• もう and まだ split four English meanings by polarity — memorize the 2×2 grid, not four rules.
• もう = change reached ("already" / "no longer"); まだ = state continuing ("still" / "not yet").
• "Not yet" = まだ + 〜ていない, a present state — never the plain past negative 〜なかった.
• The negative answer to a もう…？ ("…yet?") question is まだ(です), which can stand on its own.