Spanish word of the week: ya

This week’s Spanish word of the week is ya.

Ya is an adverb that means already.

To hear how ya is pronounced, you can click the icon below: 

Despierta, que ya son las diez. Wake up, it’s ten o’clock already.

Ya nos conocemos, no hace falta que nos presentes. We’ve already met, there’s no need to introduce us.

Ya se fue.  He’s already left.

As you can see from the example above, the word  ya can be used in Spanish with a verb in the past tense where English uses  I have…, you’ve… :

¿Ya terminaste?  Have you finished already?

Ya is also used in a number of everyday expressions. For example:
 
Ya lo sé.  I know.

 Ya veremos.  We’ll see.

¡ Ya está!  That’s it!

¡Ya voy!  I’m coming!

Come back next week to read about our next Spanish word of the week!