Setting up a grand museum exhibition requires careful coordination. To track what was finished and what was pending at a specific moment in the past, you can pair the past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) with time markers like ya (already) and todavía no (not yet).
Using "ya" for completed actions
Use ya with the past perfect to emphasize that an action had already been completed before another past event or reference time. Place ya directly before the conjugated form of haber.
| We had already placed the paintings in the hall. | Ya habíamos colocado los cuadros en la sala. |
| He had already put the poster on the pedestal. | Él ya había puesto el cartel en el pedestal. |
Using "todavía no" for pending actions
Use todavía no to express that an action had not yet occurred by a certain point in the past, usually when it was expected to happen. Just like with ya, place todavía no before the conjugated form of haber.
| They had not yet placed the sculpture on the pedestal. | Ellas todavía no habían colocado la escultura en el pedestal. |
| I was about to leave, but the catalogue had not yet arrived. | Estaba a punto de salir, pero el catálogo todavía no había llegado. |
Asking questions and giving explanations
You can use these markers in questions to check on the progress of a past setup, or in compound sentences to explain why a later event happened or was delayed.
| Had you already bought the frame for the poster? | ¿Ya habías comprado el marco para el cartel? |
| We had not yet finished the design, so we didn't inaugurate the exhibition. | Todavía no habíamos terminado el diseño, así que no inauguramos la exposición. |