ya

already; now

adverb YAH Common

Origin: From Latin iam.

Also means

(not) anymore

Usage Note

Ya is a chameleon adverb: with a perfect tense it means 'already' (ya he comido), in present or future contexts it can signal 'now' or imminence (ya voy = 'I'm coming'), and with negation it shifts to 'not anymore' (ya no vive aquí). The dismissive ya ya ('yeah, yeah') is common in informal speech.

Examples

"Ya terminé el trabajo."

Natural Translation

I already finished the work.

Literal Translation

Already I-finished the work

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