English needs four different words — already, still, (not) yet, (not) anymore — to talk about whether a situation has started, is continuing, hasn't begun, or has stopped. Russian does it all with two words and their negatives: уже́ ("already") and ещё ("still"). The system is elegant once you see the grid, but it's also the source of constant slips, because the English-to-Russian mapping is not one word to one word — not yet and no longer both look like negatives in English, yet in Russian one negates ещё and the other negates уже́. This page lays out the four-cell grid and the handful of related uses.
The four-cell grid
This table is the heart of the page. Memorise the four cells and you have the whole system:
| Positive | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| уже́ (already / by now) | уже́ = already (Он уже́ здесь — He's already here) | уже́ не = no longer (Я уже́ не рабо́таю — I no longer work) |
| ещё (still / yet) | ещё = still (Он ещё здесь — He's still here) | ещё не = not yet (Он ещё не пришёл — He hasn't come yet) |
The logic underneath: уже́ marks that a change has happened (it started, or — negated — it stopped). ещё marks that the change hasn't happened yet (it's still going, or — negated — it hasn't begun). So:
- уже́ — already started → "already"
- уже́ не — already stopped → "no longer / not anymore"
- ещё — not yet stopped → "still"
- ещё не — not yet started → "not yet"
уже́ = already
уже́ says the event has happened by now, often earlier than expected:
Он уже́ здесь — пришёл ра́ньше всех.
He's already here — he arrived before everyone. — уже́ = already, the threshold is crossed.
Уже́ по́здно, пора́ спать.
It's already late, time to sleep.
ещё = still (and ещё раз, ещё оди́н)
ещё says a state is continuing — "still." It also does double duty for "more": ещё раз (one more time, again) and ещё оди́н / одна́ / одно́ (one more):
Он ещё здесь? Я ду́мал, он уже́ ушёл.
Is he still here? I thought he'd already left. — ещё (still) contrasted with уже́ (already).
Повтори́, пожа́луйста, ещё раз — я не расслы́шал.
Please say it once more — I didn't catch it. — ещё раз = one more time.
Дай мне ещё одну́ ча́шку ко́фе.
Give me one more cup of coffee. — ещё + оди́н/одну́ = one more.
уже́ не = no longer / not anymore
Negating уже́ gives "no longer" — the situation used to be true but has stopped:
Я уже́ не рабо́таю там — уво́лился в ма́рте.
I no longer work there — I quit in March. — уже́ не = the job has ended.
Не волну́йся, я уже́ не ребёнок!
Don't worry, I'm not a child anymore! — уже́ не = the childhood state is over.
ещё не = not yet
Negating ещё gives "not yet" — the situation hasn't started but is expected to:
Он ещё не пришёл — подожди́ пять мину́т.
He hasn't come yet — wait five minutes. — ещё не = arrival is still pending.
бо́льше не = not anymore (the cessation alternative)
Alongside уже́ не, Russian very commonly uses бо́льше не for "not anymore / no more," stressing that the action has stopped and won't recur. уже́ не and бо́льше не overlap heavily; бо́льше не leans on "won't happen again":
Я бо́льше не бу́ду так де́лать, обеща́ю.
I won't do that anymore, I promise. — бо́льше не = it will not happen again.
The distinguishing insight: English negation hides the pivot
The reason this topic feels slippery is that English wears its logic on the surface for the positives (already vs still) but buries it for the negatives. Not yet and no longer are both just "not + something," and English speakers don't consciously feel that not yet is the negation of still while no longer is the negation of already. Russian forces that structure into the open: you literally negate ещё to get "not yet" and negate уже́ to get "no longer." This is actually a gift — once you anchor on уже́ = a change happened and ещё = a state persists, you can derive all four meanings instead of memorising four unrelated phrases. The mistake to guard against is reaching for the word whose English translation looks closest: "not yet" sounds like it should pair with "already" (both about timing), but grammatically it pairs with "still."
Common Mistakes
❌ Я ещё не рабо́таю там, уво́лился в ма́рте.
Reversed meaning — ещё не рабо́таю means 'I don't work there yet'; for 'no longer work' negate уже́: уже́ не рабо́таю.
✅ Я уже́ не рабо́таю там, уво́лился в ма́рте.
I no longer work there, I quit in March.
❌ Он уже́ не пришёл.
Wrong cell — this means 'he's no longer coming/didn't come after all'; for 'he hasn't come yet' use ещё не: Он ещё не пришёл.
✅ Он ещё не пришёл.
He hasn't come yet.
❌ Дай мне друго́й раз.
Wrong word — 'one more time' is ещё раз; друго́й раз would mean 'another (different) time'.
✅ Дай мне ещё раз попро́бовать.
Let me try one more time.
❌ Я не ребёнок уже́.
Awkward order/meaning — the set phrase places уже́ before не: Я уже́ не ребёнок ('I'm not a child anymore').
✅ Я уже́ не ребёнок.
I'm not a child anymore.
Key Takeaways
- The whole system runs on two words: уже́ (a change has happened) and ещё (a state persists / hasn't begun).
- The four cells: уже́ = already · ещё = still · уже́ не = no longer · ещё не = not yet.
- To say "no longer," negate уже́ (уже́ не); to say "not yet," negate ещё (ещё не) — don't pair by English similarity.
- ещё also means "more": ещё раз (once more), ещё оди́н (one more) — not друго́й, which means a different one (see other / another).
- бо́льше не = "not anymore," emphasising the action won't recur — overlaps with уже́ не.
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- Adverbs of Place, Time, and MannerA1 — A first survey of the three workhorse adverb classes you need from day one. PLACE: где, здесь/тут, там, and the where-to set сюда́/туда́/домо́й (Russian splits 'here/there' by whether you're located there or moving there). TIME: когда́, сейча́с, пото́м, вчера́/сего́дня/за́втра, всегда́/никогда́, уже́/ещё. MANNER: как, хорошо́/пло́хо, бы́стро/ме́дленно, вме́сте. The big beginner trap is mixing up location (здесь) with direction (сюда́).
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