Ya and Todavia

[corconte]

Hi

Can someone please help me to understand when to use "Ya" and when to use "Todavia"

Thanks

[Julvenzor]

Hi corconte,

"ya" is used in affirmative and interrogative sentences.

For instance:

-Ya ha llegado Cristina.
-¿Manolo ha cantado ya?

And "todavía" is used in negative sentences.

For example,

-No han venido todavía (aún).

[Uriel]

Don't the meanings change with tense, too?

[Julvenzor]

Originally Posted by Uriel

Don't the meanings change with tense, too?

Sincerely, my explanation must be qualified. For instance:

¿Qué tenían los jugadores de ajedrez cuando todavía no había computadoras?

Here, were have "todavía" in a interrogative sentence.

"Todavía" is as "aún". It indicates a situation hasn't happened yet. Also sometimes it means "however" and it denotes expensive or weighting. If you show me an example, I can answer you.

[Uriel]

So is it, "What did chess players have when they still didn't have computers?"

I guess you might also put this as: "What did chess players have when they didn't even have computers" -- maybe? Or would you use aún there?