まだ - Grammar Discussion

still・not yet

Structure

  • まだ + Noun + が・(いる or ある)
  • まだ + Verb[] + いる

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Trying to find differences be between まだ and 依然(いぜん). According to a Jisho forum, the former leans towards more negative nuance and the later more positive. From the BP entries, which most read neutral to me given they are out of context, what would be acceptable to be replaced with 依然?

"Please note this is my limited understanding:

まだ and 依然 both mean “not yet” or “still” ( there may be some other usages, and I’m more familiar with this “依然として” expression).

まだ is more casual, 依然 sounds polite/official/formal.
I don’t use 依然 when I talk with my friends. I use まだ instead.
まだ can be used in both casual and formal situation. It is fine when news casters use まだ as well as 依然, and they can be used interchangeably."

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if i want to mean,

It’s been a year since we met, how much I missed you, how are you, what have you been doing since we haven’t seen each other? Are you still studying Japanese?

まだんほんごのべんきょうをするの ?
mada nihongo no benkyou wo suru no?

can i say like this? is it correct meaning with what i mean?

i do not want to mean,
You were studying Japanese 5 hours ago. You still have your Japanese book open in front of you on the desk. Are you still studying japanese?

mada nihongo no benkyou wo shiteiru no?

Hey @RezoneH !

To say ‘Are you still studying Japanese’, you would say まだ日本語を勉強しているの? Here this ている is used since it is describing an action is not ‘continuing’, but happens so often that they are considered to be continuous.

The ている used in the second example you provided is this since it is used in a context where the person is in the constant state of ‘doing’ a verb.

I hope this answers your question! :blush:

So, for the both 2 scenario there is only 1 possible saying.
both are: まだ日本語を勉強しているの?
if i mean,
You were studying Japanese intensively last year. It seems like you haven’t stopped working, you continue working regularly.
The expression of this sentence in Japanese is, “mada nihongo wo benkyou shiteiru no?”

Did I understand correctly?

There are many ways that both of these can be expressed! However, if you want to say ‘still doing 〜’, some form of ている will be used.

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