Al, nog and pas in Dutch, already, still, yet and only

Al, nog and pas are three tiny words that show up in almost every Dutch conversation. They tell you how a moment compares to what you expected: earlier, later, more, less. English spreads these ideas over "already", "still", "yet", "only", "not until" and "another", so the match is never one-to-one. The good news: once you see them side by side, the system is quite logical.

Al — already

Al usually means "already": something has happened, or is the case, sooner than you might expect.

• Ik heb al gegeten. — I've already eaten.
• Is de trein al vertrokken? — Has the train left already?
• Het is al laat. — It's late already.
• Mijn zoon kan al lezen. — My son can already read.

In questions, al often matches English "yet": Ben je al klaar? — Are you ready yet?

Al with a period of time

This is where English speakers trip up. To say how long something has been going on, Dutch uses the present tense plus al, where English uses the present perfect.

• Ik woon al tien jaar in Utrecht. — I've been living in Utrecht for ten years.
• We wachten al een uur. — We've been waiting for an hour.
• Ik ken haar al lang. — I've known her for a long time.

Al lang means "for a long time (already)". It combines with niet meer too: Ik rook al lang niet meer. — I haven't smoked for a long time.

Nog — still, yet and more

Nog has three main jobs.

1. Still — something hasn't stopped yet.

• Hij slaapt nog. — He's still asleep.
• Woon je nog in Rotterdam? — Do you still live in Rotterdam?

2. More, another — with food, drinks and amounts.

• Wil je nog koffie? — Would you like some more coffee?
• Nog een biertje, graag. — Another beer, please.
• Heb je nog vragen? — Do you have any more questions?

3. Still to come — something is yet to happen.

• Ik moet nog boodschappen doen. — I still have to do the shopping.
• Dat komt nog wel. — That will come.

Nog steeds — still (emphatic)

Nog steeds is a stronger "still", often with a hint of surprise or irritation: it's been going on for a while.

• Het regent nog steeds. — It's still raining.
• Ben je nog steeds boos? — Are you still angry?

You can usually replace nog steeds with plain nog, but not always the other way round: nog koffie can never be nog steeds koffie.

The negative pairs: nog niet and niet meer

These two are the opposites of al and nog, and the pairs work like a little system:

So: al ↔ nog niet (already ↔ not yet) and nog ↔ niet meer (still ↔ no longer).

With nouns, niet becomes geen (see niet or geen):

• Ik heb nog geen kinderen. — I don't have children yet.
• Ik heb geen geld meer. — I have no money left.
• Er is geen melk meer. — There's no more milk.

A common mistake is putting meer in the wrong place. Meer goes at the end of the geen phrase or after niet. Wrong: Ik heb meer geen geld.

Pas — only, not until, just

Pas is the opposite of al. Where al says "earlier or more than expected", pas says "later or less than expected".

• Het is al tien uur. — It's already ten o'clock. (later than I thought)
• Het is pas tien uur. — It's only ten o'clock. (earlier than I thought)
• Hij is al 18. — He's already 18.
• Ik ben pas 20. — I'm only 20.

Pas = not until

With times and events, pas often translates as "not until" or "only then".

• De winkel gaat pas om tien uur open. — The shop doesn't open until ten.
• Ik ga pas slapen als het af is. — I won't go to bed until it's finished.
• Ik hoorde het pas gisteren. — I only heard about it yesterday.

Pas = recently, just

Pas can also mean "recently, only just", especially with the perfect tense. Net is the most common word for "just", but pas is used too:

• Ik ben pas verhuisd. — I've only recently moved.
• We zijn hier pas sinds kort. — We've only been here for a short while.
• Hij is net thuis. — He's just got home.

Be careful: Hij is pas gekomen can mean "he has only just come" or "he only came (late)". Context decides; net is clearer if you mean "just now".

Nog maar, maar and nog een

Nog maar — only (so far)

Nog maar means "only" with the feeling that more will come. It's close to pas, and often interchangeable with it.

• Het is nog maar acht uur. — It's only eight o'clock.
• Ik woon hier nog maar twee maanden. — I've only been living here for two months.
• Ik heb nog maar drie bladzijden gelezen. — I've only read three pages so far.

Without nog, maar just means "only" for amounts: Ik heb maar vijf euro. — I only have five euros. Pas is about time, age and progress; maar is about quantity. For a fixed amount with no "so far" feeling, use maar, not pas.

Nog een vs een ander

English "another" has two meanings, and Dutch splits them:

Ask for nog een glas in a restaurant and you'll get a refill. Ask for een ander glas and they'll replace the dirty one. Note the adjective ending: een andere stoel (de-word) but een ander glas (het-word), as explained in adjective endings.

Nog een keer means "once more, again": Kunt u dat nog een keer zeggen? — Could you say that again?

Where do these words go?

Al, nog and pas sit in the middle of the sentence: after the conjugated verb and the subject, after short pronoun objects like het, and before the rest.

• Ik heb het al gedaan. — I've already done it.
• Ze is nog niet thuis. — She isn't home yet.
• We gaan pas morgen. — We're not going until tomorrow.

Wrong: Ik heb al het gedaan. The pronoun het comes before al. For more on this middle zone, see Dutch word order.

Quick summary

• al = already; with a time span + present tense = "have been … for": Ik woon hier al twee jaar.
• nog = still, more, another, yet to happen; nog steeds = emphatic "still".
• al ↔ nog niet (already ↔ not yet); nog ↔ niet meer / geen … meer (still ↔ no longer).
• pas = only (later or less than expected), not until, recently: Ik ben pas 20.
• nog maar = only (so far); maar = only (amount).
• nog een = one more; een ander(e) = a different one.

Practise it

Talk about clock times with al and pas in Telling the time, use al and nog niet with finished actions in The perfect tense, and add more small words like these to your speech in Particles.