YET, STILL, SO FAR in negative statements - Learn Advanced English Grammar

We use YET, STILL, and SO FAR in negative statements to convey that the mentioned activity has not happen up to the present time, but they can deliver the same meaning with different connotations. This blog post will look at their nuanced meanings.

Before that, you need to keep in mind that they are mostly used with the present perfect tense in the negative and questions.

YET

• It is more about providing information; we mean that although something was expected to happen, it has not happened.
• It also means since it is expected, it could happen at some point in the future.
• An additional sentence that suggests that it will take place in the future generally follows this sentence.

"I haven't eaten that food yet."

This sentence that I have not had the experience of sampling or trying the food up to now, but I might do so in the future. I must have had opportunities to try that food, but I haven't; however, there are chances that I will try it sooner or later.

STILL

• When we use STILL, we additionally imply that it should have happened already.
• There is a grain of frustration or wonder at the fact that it still has not happened.
• It highlights that the situation has persisted for some time (thus causing you this frustration).

"Despite repeated warnings, he still has not written the assignment."

This emphasizes the continuation of the situation, with "still" highlighting the persistence of the problem despite the warnings.

"I still haven't eaten that food"

It highlights that the situation has persisted for some time and implies that you are surprised or frustrated by the fact that you have not yet eaten the food.

SO FAR

• With SO FAR, the sentence attains a neutral tone that emphasizes one's experience with the mentioned thing up to now, without implying any specific intention to change the situation.
• It does not explicitly suggest future intentions.
• Unlike the above two, SO FAR is abundant in positive statements because it simply means "until now."

"I haven't eaten that food so far."

This means, until the present moment, I have not eaten the food with no intention of changing the fact.

"I have never finished a single project so far."

The speaker simply states a fact about him with reference to the time up until now; there seems to be no vigorous attempts on his part to change the fact.

Let us look at two scenarios; you can easily tell here which one of YET, STILL, and SO FAR would be needed here;

For example, there is a police officer coming to your house to arrest you, which you normally don't want to happen; your accomplice in the crime is checking in on you worriedly to know if he has come.

Here, you wouldn't say, "He still hasn't come," because you don't think it should already have happened, but rather, you would say, "No, he hasn't come yet."

For another example, your daddy is coming from abroad, and you and your sister are eagerly waiting for him; she nods off and wakes up to ask you if he has come, to which you will most probably answer, "He still hasn't arrived," because you wish if he came. Since it is giving an update on the status, you can also say, "No, he hasn't come yet."

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