Language/French/Grammar/encore-VS-toujours

Distinguishing the Meanings of "Encore" and "Toujours" in French

In the French language, "encore" and "toujours" are two frequently used adverbs that often cause confusion for learners. While both of these words can be translated to "still" or "yet" in English, they have different connotations and uses in French. In this lesson, we will explore the meanings of "encore" and "toujours" and provide tips for using them correctly in your French conversations.

We will look at the various situations in which each word is used, and the subtle differences in meaning between them. By the end of this lesson, you will have a better understanding of when to use "encore" and when to use "toujours" in your French conversations. So let's dive in and learn how to use these adverbs with confidence!

"Encore" & "Toujours" have several meanings which make them difficult for the learner.

"encore" and "toujours" = "still"

Both "encore" and "toujours" can mean "still" in clauses which express a situation that is unfolding at the moment.

• Est-il encore/toujours ici?

Is he still there? (Her being here is a state of affairs unfolding right now)

• Elle se plaint encore/toujours

She is still complaining (His complaint is a state of affairs that is unfolding at the moment)

"Encore" = "again"

In clauses that describe an action that has been completed or that may potentially end, however, "encore" means "again":

• Il a encore perdu son sac

He has lost his bag again (His losing of the bag is a completed action)

• J'ai peur de m'énerver encore

I'm afraid to get angry again (Although I haven't done so yet, getting angry has the potential for being a completed action)

"Encore" = "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'énerver

"I'm still afraid of getting angry" or "Once again I am afraid of getting angry"

"Encore" = "still more, further"

Where "encore" modifies a noun phrase or other adverbs it can mean "still more, further":

• Encore du lait, s'il vous plaît

More milk, please

• Ils ont parlé encore une ou deux heures

They talked a further one or two hours

• Elle est encore plus bavarde que son frère

She is even more talkative than her brother

• J'aime encore mieux son projet d'entreprise que la mien

I like his business plan even better than mine

"toujours" = "always"

"toujours", in addition to meaning "still", can mean "always":

• Elles ont toujours été dures en affaire

They've always been tough on business

• On s'efforçait depuis toujours de me cacher la vérité sur mon enfance

They always tried to hide the truth about my childhood

"toujours" = "still"

In sentences negated by the word "pas", if "toujours" placed before "pas" it means "still" (if it follows it means "always"):

• Son avion n'a toujours pas décollé

His plane still hasn't taken off

• Il n'a pas toujours été présent pour son fils adoptif

He was not always present for his adopted son

"encore" = "yet"

"encore" can only follow "pas" and means "yet":

• Il n'est pas encore parti

He hasn't yet left

Sources

• https://www.amazon.fr/s?k=9780340991244
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwWY76hq8EE
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ernFuOcfpTU

Other chapters

Table of Contents

Nouns

• Types
• Gender
• Plural

---

Determiners

• Articles
• Typical use of the definite article
• Typical use of the indefinite article
• The partitive article: du, de l', de la, des
• Use of indefinite and partitive articles after the negative forms ne... pas, ne... jamais, ne... plus, ne... guère
• Omission of the article
• Demonstrative determiners
• Possessive determiners

---

Personal and impersonal pronouns

• Subject pronouns
• Object pronouns
• Stressed pronouns
• Demonstrative pronouns
• Possessive pronouns

---

Adjectives

• Adjectives modifying the noun
• Adjectives which follow verbs or verbal expressions
• Adjectives with complements
• Indefinite and negative noun phrases with adjective complements
• Adjectives used as nouns
• Adjectives used as adverbs
• Masculine and feminine forms of adjectives
• Plural forms of adjectives
• Adjective agreement with nouns
• Invariable adjectives
• Compound adjectives
• Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives
• Subjunctive versus indicative in clauses dependent on a superlative adjective
• Absolute use of the superlative

---

Adverbs

• Function of adverbs
• Formation of adverbs with the ending -ment
• Adjectives used as adverbs without addition of -ment
• Phrases used as adverbs
• English and French adverb formation
• Types of adverbs
• Location of adverbs

---

Numbers, measurements, time and quantifiers

• Cardinal numbers
• Ordinal numbers
• Fractions
• Some differences in the use of cardinal and ordinal numbers in French and English
• Measurements and comparisons
• Dates, days, years
• Clock time
• Money
• Quantifiers

---

Verb forms

• Conjugations
• Easy ways of generating some parts of the paradigms
• Changes in the stem form of some -er conjugation verbs
• Verbs whose stems end in c- or g-
• Verb paradigms

---

Verb constructions

• Relations between verbs and their complements
• Intransitive constructions
• Directly transitive verbs
• Indirectly transitive verbs
• Ditransitive verbs
• The passive
• Pronominal verbs
• Impersonal verbs
• Verbs which take noun + adjective or noun + noun complements

---

Verb and participle agreement

• Subject-verb agreement
• Agreement of the past participle with the subject of être
• Agreement of the past participle of verbs conjugated with avoir with a preceding direct object
• Agreement of the past participle of pronominal verbs in compound tenses

---

Tense

• The present
• The past
• The future
• Other tenses indicating the time at which events occur relative to other events
• Combining tenses
• Tenses in direct and reported descriptions of events
• Tenses with si

---

The subjunctive, modal verbs, exclamatives and imperatives

• The attitude of the subject to events: the subjunctive
• The use of devoir, pouvoir, savoir, falloir
• The French equivalents of the English modal verbs: 'would', 'should', 'could', 'may', 'might', 'ought to', and 'must'
• Exclamatives
• Imperatives

---

The infinitive

• Introduction: what are infinitives?
• Infinitives as complements to other verbs
• Verbs which take infinitive complements without a linking preposition
• Verbs which take infinitive complements preceded by the preposition à
• Verbs which take an infinitive complement preceded by de
• Omission of objects before infinitives
• Infinitives as complements to adjectives
• Infinitives as complements to nouns
• Infinitives in subordinate clauses
• Infinitives as polite commands
• Quick-reference index to verbs taking infinitive complements

---

Prepositions

• Introduction
• Prepositions listed alphabetically from à to vers
• French translations for common English prepositions

---

Question formation

• Introduction
• Yes/no questions
• Information questions
• Order of object pronouns in questions involving inversion
• Order of negative particles in questions involving inversion
• Use of question words and phrases: qui?, que?, quoi?, quel?, de qui?, avec combien de? etc.
• Indirect questions

---

Relative clauses

• Introduction
• Use of relative qui
• Use of relative que
• Preposition plus qui
• Use of lequel in relative clauses
• Use of dont, de qui, duquel/de laquelle/desquels/desquelles
• The use of où as a relative pronoun
• Use of relative quoi
• Free relative clauses and the use of ce qui, ce que, ce dont, ce à quoi, ce sur quoi, etc.
• Translating 'whoever', 'whatever', 'wherever', 'whenever', 'however'
• Indicative and subjunctive in relative clauses

---

Negation

• Introduction
• Location of sentence negators
• Order of negators in multiple negation
• Omission of ne in sentence negation
• Order of negative elements in questions and imperatives
• ne... pas
• ne... que
• ne... aucun(e), ne... nul(le)
• ne... jamais
• ne... plus
• ne... guère
• ne... rien
• ne... personne
• ne... ni... ni
• sans used with other negators
• ne used alone

---

Conjunctions and other linking constructions

• Introduction
• Coordinating conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions
• Conjunctions sometimes confused by English speakers
• Repeated subordinating conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions used with infinitive clauses
• après avoir/ être + past participle linking an infinitive clause to a main clause
• Past participle phrases used as linkers
• Present participles and gerunds