TOPIC · Adverbs & particles

Distinguishing schon, noch and bereits

A1A2

After this lesson you can safely distinguish **schon**, **noch** and **bereits** in simple situations and build correct sentences with them.

In this lesson we look at three small but important words: schon, noch and bereits. All three are about time and expectations and are very common in everyday German (A1–A2).

1schon – something is already true or finished

schon shows that something has already happened or is true earlier than expected.

1.1 Basic meaning

Example	Meaning
Ich habe schon gegessen.	The action is finished.
Bist du schon fertig?	Question: has the state been reached now?
Ist dein Bruder schon da?	He has arrived earlier / now.
Hast du das schon gemacht?	Has this action happened in the past?

Typical use:

in statements: Er ist schon müde. (He is already tired.)
in questions: Wohnst du schon lange in Berlin? (Have you lived in Berlin for a long time already?)

1.2 schon with „mal“ and as emphasis

With mal / einmal, schon often means “at least once (before)”.

Example	Meaning
Warst du schon mal in Deutschland?	Have you been to Germany at least once?
Ich war schon einmal dort.	I have been there before.

With strong stress, schon can mean something like “indeed / really / don’t worry”.

Example	Meaning
Ich verstehe schon.	“Don’t worry, I really understand.”
Das wird schon klappen.	Expression of confidence: “It will work out.”

2bereits – more formal than „schon“

bereits is very close in meaning to schon, but it sounds more formal and is frequent in texts, news and e-mails.

Example	Meaning
Ich habe bereits bezahlt.	I have already paid.
Die Tickets sind bereits ausverkauft.	The tickets are already sold out.
Wir sind bereits in Phase zwei.	We have already reached phase two.

Typical in formal sentences, announcements, letters:

Die Lieferung ist bereits unterwegs. (The delivery is already on its way.)
Ihre Bestellung wurde bereits bearbeitet. (Your order has already been processed.)

In everyday speech, speakers usually prefer schon:

Ich bin schon um 8 Uhr hier. (rather than: Ich bin bereits um 8 Uhr hier.)

3noch – something continues / is not finished

noch shows that a state continues or an action is not finished yet.

3.1 noch = “still”

Example	Meaning
Ich bin noch müde.	I am still tired.
Ich warte noch auf ihn.	I am still waiting for him.
Gehst du noch zur Schule?	Do you still go to school?

3.2 noch nicht – “not yet”

noch nicht = the action has not happened so far, but maybe later.

Example	Meaning
Ich bin noch nicht fertig.	I am not finished yet.
Er ist noch nicht da.	He is not here yet.
Wir wissen es noch nicht.	We do not know yet.

3.3 Other uses of „noch“

noch can also mean “additional / another”.

Example	Meaning
Ich brauche noch ein Heft.	I need one more / another notebook.
Was möchtest du noch trinken?	What else would you like to drink?
Was noch?	What else?

4Comparison: schon / bereits / noch

Situation	Typical expression
something is already finished / true	Ich habe schon / bereits gegessen.
informal, everyday speech	Ich habe schon gegessen.
formal, written style	Ich habe bereits gegessen.
something continues	Ich warte noch.
something has not happened so far	Ich habe noch nicht gegessen.

With these patterns you can decide more easily whether schon, bereits or noch fits.