kare ha mada tosyokan ni itte imasen.

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Questions & Answers about kare ha mada tosyokan ni itte imasen.

What does まだ mean in this sentence and why is it used here?
まだ is an adverb meaning “not yet” when paired with a negative verb. Here it tells us that the action of going to the library has not happened up to now. With a positive verb, まだ would mean “still” (e.g. まだ図書館にいます = “He is still at the library”), but with the negative it flips to “hasn’t … yet.”
Why is the verb in the –te iru form (行っていません) instead of the simple negative 行きません?

The –te iru form expresses either an ongoing action or a resulting state.

  • 行っていません means “has not gone (and is therefore not there now).”
  • 行きません means “does not go” (habitually or by refusal) or “will not go.”
    We choose –te iru here because we want “hasn’t gone yet,” not “never goes.”
What’s the difference between 行っていません and 行ったことがありません? Both seem like “hasn’t gone.”

They’re different:

  • 行っていません focuses on the current state: “he hasn’t gone (yet), but may still go.”
  • 行ったことがありません uses 〜たことがない to express no experience ever: “he’s never been to the library” (and it doesn’t imply timing or future plans).
What role does the particle play after 図書館? Could we use instead?
marks the destination of motion (“to the library”). You can often replace it with (図書館へ行っていません), which emphasizes “toward,” but in modern Japanese is more common for destinations.
Why is marked with rather than ?

is the topic marker, setting “he” as the topic (“as for him…”).
If you used (彼がまだ図書館に…), you’d be emphasizing or newly introducing “he” as the subject. Here we assume “he” is already in focus, so is natural.

Can we omit 彼は and just say まだ図書館に行っていません?
Yes. Japanese often drops pronouns when the context is clear. If everyone knows you’re talking about “him,” you can simply say まだ図書館に行っていません.
Why can’t we use もう instead of まだ here?

もう with a positive verb means “already,” but with a negative it means “no longer/anymore.”

  • もう行っていません would imply “He is no longer going (but used to).”
    To express “not yet,” you must use まだ
    • negative.
How do you form the -form of 行く? Why is it 行って?
行く is a godan verb ending in –く. Generally you change –く to –いて (e.g. 書く → 書いて), but 行く is an exception: it becomes 行って instead of 行いて. Many textbooks list it under “iku → itte” as a special case.
How would you say this sentence in casual (plain) speech?

In plain form you change いません to いない:
彼はまだ図書館に行っていない。
You can also drop 彼は if context allows:
まだ図書館に行っていない。