Difference between revisions of "Language/French/Grammar/encore-VS-toujours"
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Revision as of 13:09, 7 November 2021
"Encore" and "Toujours" have several meanings, and overlap in one of those meanings, which makes them difficult for the learner.
Both "encore" and "toujours" can mean 'still'
Both "encore" and "toujours" can mean 'still' in clauses which express an ongoing state of affairs:
- Est-il encore/toujours là?
Is he still here? (His being here is an ongoing state of affairs)
- Elle se plaint encore/toujours
She is still complaining (Her complaining is an ongoing state of affairs)
"Encore" can mean 'again'
In clauses which describe a completed action, or the potential for the completion of an action, however, encore means 'again':
- Il a encore perdu sa clef
He has lost his key again (His losing of the key is a completed action)
- J'ai peur de m'évanouir encore
I am afraid of fainting again (Although I haven't done so yet, fainting has the potential for being a completed action)
"Encore" can mean either 'still' or 'again'
Note that if "encore" modifies the first clause, which expresses a state of affairs, it could mean either 'still' or 'again':
- J'ai encore peur de m'évanouir
"I'm still afraid of fainting" or "Once again I am afraid of fainting"
"Encore" can mean 'still more, further'
Where "encore" modifies noun phrases or other adverbs it means 'still more, further':
- Encore du pain, s'il vous plaît
More bread, please
- Ils ont roulé encore dix ou vingt kilomètres
They travelled a further ten or twenty kilometres
- Elle est encore plus douée que sa soeur
She is even more gifted than her sister
- J'aime encore mieux votre idée que la mienne
I like your idea even more than mine
"toujours" can mean 'always'
"toujours", in addition to meaning 'still', can also mean 'always':
- Elles ont toujours refusé de me parler
They have always refused to talk to me
- On s'efforçait depuis toujours de me le cacher
They had always tried to hide it from me
"toujours" can mean 'still'
In sentences negated by pas, if toujours precedes the pas it means 'still', if it follows it means 'always':
- II n'est toujours pas arrivé
He still hasn't arrived
- Il n'est pas toujours arrivé
He didn't always arrive/turn up
"encore" can mean 'yet'
"encore" can only follow "pas" and means "yet":
- Il n'est pas encore arrivé
He hasn't yet arrived
Videos: French Adverbs: When to Use Encore, Toujours and Déjà
Sources
- https://www.amazon.fr/s?k=9780340991244
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwWY76hq8EE
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ernFuOcfpTU