# Ending sentences with 'yet'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 30, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-sentences-with-yet/955226 "2021-11-30T15:59:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-sentences-with-yet/955226/41 "2021-12-31T14:13:52Z")
Thanks for that helpful post, hibernicus. Exactly so — we all agree on the negative-polarity use of “yet,” but the positive one seems to be restricted, so far in this thread, to Wisconsin, (part of?) Canada, Mennonites in Ohio, and one guy in Seattle (did anyone investigate his family roots?). (Someone mentioned Yiddish. In this semantic domain, the end-of-sentence word in Yiddish transferred to English as “already” — “Enough, already! All right, already!”). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-sentences-with-yet/955226/42 "2021-12-31T15:38:46Z")
“Are we there yet?” seems to lack the negative word and meaning, but it’s really implying “Aren’t we there yet?” — i.e., “Have we not yet arrived?” — i.e., “I expected us to be there already. Is the reality contrary to my expectation/hope?” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-sentences-with-yet/955226/43 "2021-12-31T15:58:30Z")
> All this reminds me of a Justin Wilson joke, reprinted below: > Bodraux walked into a cafe looking for Tibadaux > Tibadaux was known to be the smartest man in town. > As Bodraux spotted Tibadaux he walked over and sat down. > Tibadaux asked, what can I help you with ? > Bodraux replied, tell me where a female womans yet is. > Tibadaux asked what did you say ? > Bodraux answered, where is a female womans yet. > At this Tibadaux rubbed his stubby beard, sipped his > coffee and replied, a woman aint got some yet. > Oh hell yea she do replied Bodraux. > Oh hell no she don’t replied Tibadaux I know everything > and I can tell you for certain a woman aint got no yet. > At this Bodraux said I can prove it. > He pulled a Times Picayune paper out of his back pocket > And said, right here on the front page of this paper > the headlines say THAT A WOMAN WAS FOUND SHOT TO DEATH AND THE BULLET WAS IN HER YET ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-sentences-with-yet/955226/44 "2022-01-01T00:34:52Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > “Are we there yet?” seems to lack the negative word and meaning, but it’s really implying “Aren’t we there yet?” — i.e., “Have we not yet arrived?” — i.e., “I expected us to be there already. Is the reality contrary to my expectation/hope?” “are we there yet?” And “have you done it yet” don’t seem to be using “yet”’in the sense of “still” ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-sentences-with-yet/955226/45 "2022-01-01T09:58:23Z")
The use of “yet” to mean “remaining” or “still” is well established if somewhat archaic; it’s not a “mistake.” Lots of examples from Shakespeare leap to mind. Here’s just one: > **[All's Well That Ends Well, Act II, Scene 3 :|: Open Source Shakespeare  ...](https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=allswell&Act=2&Scene=3&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=998#998)** > > Array **Lafeu:** There’s one grape yet … ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-sentences-with-yet/955226/46 "2022-01-01T10:06:42Z")
Another: > **[Much Ado about Nothing, Act I, Scene 1 :|: Open Source Shakespeare  ...](https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=muchado&Act=1&Scene=1&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=106#106)** > > Array **Benedick:** What, my dear Lady Disdain! are you yet living? I will say, though, that searching the concordance and seeing all the variable usage demonstrates that this is indeed a strange little word. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-sentences-with-yet/955226/47 "2022-01-01T10:52:50Z")
From the song Navigator, by The Pogues, about railway construction; Their mark on this land is still seen and still laid The way for a commerce where vast fortunes were made The supply of an Empire where the sun never set Which is now deep in darkness, but the railway’s there yet. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-sentences-with-yet/955226/48 "2022-01-01T22:14:35Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > “are we there yet?” And “have you done it yet” don’t seem to be using “yet”’in the sense of “still” Exactly. The “still” meaning is unusual/regional, because it has positive polarity. The more common/ubiquitous meanings — including in “are we there yet?” — have negative polarity. It’s just that the negativity is usually obvious, because there’s a clearly negative word elsewhere in the sentence — whereas in “are we there yet?” (and “I’ve yet to see a bigger fish than that…”), the negativity is a little more hidden. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-sentences-with-yet/955226/49 "2022-01-02T05:53:49Z")
I wonder if it is because there are other meanings of “still” and “yet” that don’t have to do with time and duration where the meaning _is_ the same. “Are the kids at school yet?” to me is always asking if they arrived at school, not whether they remain at school but “My mother served her yet another piece of pie" and “My mother served her still another piece of pie" mean the same thing to me. There are about 9 examples of using yet in that wikiHow link- and I could substitute “still” for almost all of them. The only two I wouldn’t are using “yet” at the end of a sentence to indicate something hasn’t happened and the example given of showing enthusiasm " “That was her best film yet!” ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-sentences-with-yet/955226/50 "2022-01-02T12:32:31Z")
Good point — “still” has other meanings that coincide with some of “yet’s” other meanings, such as marking an instance of “third or more” with surprise or other emotion or judgment. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-sentences-with-yet/955226/51 "2025-09-06T03:50:28Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I would’ve absolutely sworn I posted the same question here like a decade ago, except it was about two of my coworkers from Wisconsin, but apparently that was the other message board I used to post to. Ha, found it! All the way back in 2010, but still up there yet. All this brought to mind by this, hopefully queued up to the right spot: [my garden](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9skCRuoays&t=101s) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-sentences-with-yet/955226.md?page=2)