Français — déjà, still and no longer
In French, déjà, encore and ne… plus locate an action in time — whether it has already happened, is still going on, or has stopped. Compare J'ai déjà fini, Elle est encore là and Elle n'est plus là.
How it works
déjà means already (J'ai déjà mangé); its negative counterpart is pas encore = not yet (Je n'ai pas encore mangé). encore and toujours say that something is still going on (Il dort encore), while ne… plus says it has stopped — no longer (Je ne fume plus). Before a noun, encore de means more: Tu veux encore du café ?
At a glance
| Expression | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| déjà | J'ai déjà vu ce film. | already (done before now) |
| pas encore | Je n'ai pas encore vu ce film. | not yet (still awaited) |
| encore / toujours | Elle est encore là. | still (ongoing) |
| encore (de) | Tu veux encore du café ? | more / another |
| ne… plus | Elle n'est plus là. | no longer (stopped) |
| ne… plus de | Il n'y a plus de café. | no more (of), used up |
Good to know
Watch the pairings: the opposite of déjà is pas encore, but the opposite of encore (still) is ne… plus (no longer) — don't mix them. Also, encore has two senses: still (Tu es encore là ?) and more (Encore un peu ?). In casual speech ne often drops, so J'en veux plus is ambiguous in writing: with plus said /plys/ it means I want more, with /ply/ it means I want no more — pronunciation and context decide.