Can we use this type of formation.
Stop bluffing. There's no need to hide it. Tell me already
Can already be used in this way.
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3 Answers
That use of already is not only grammatical, but idiomatic—at least in US English.
From Merriam-Webster's definition of already:
2 —used as an intensive
// All right already.
// Enough already!
From Lexico (Oxford):
2 North American informal
Used after a word or phrase to express impatience.‘just stop already, no one feels sorry for you’
‘We'll start with a plea for this year to just finish already.’
‘Nobody wanted to tell him to just go home already.’
‘If you have a point in saying this, just tell me already.’
‘He needs to just retire already.’
‘I thought this was fine; let's just hurry up already.’
answered Dec 22, 2019 at 14:14
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I'm not a native English speaker. I heard the phrase "Would you please get rid of that filthy couch already?" in a movie and felt that's grammatically incorrect, and ended up here after a bit of Googling. When I hear it, it still irritates inside my head, like the "my bad" phrase. Well, that's something the non-native speakers have to live with I suppose :) Commented May 2, 2020 at 7:52
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@ΕГИІИО I'll say that I personally don't use the word in that way myself. (But a lot of people do.) Commented May 2, 2020 at 17:10
Tell me already!
In formal English, already means "before now", so it would be unnatural to use it at the end of a request for information... the speaker has not already told you.
In German, schon means already, but if used at the end of a request or command it also means come on! This found its way into Yiddish, as שוין (shoyn). When American Yiddish speakers switch to English, they sometimes finish a request with already, when they really mean come on!. It's the sort of thing that the Marx brothers would say.
From here, it found its way into humorous, informal American English as an expression of impatience. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, it is:
used to show that you are losing patience and want someone to stop doing something or to do something more quickly
answered Dec 15, 2019 at 9:19
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Thanku but I don't understand whether you are supporting the sentence or not.... Just tell me directly whether already can be used in this way......– GreeshCommented Dec 17, 2019 at 17:40
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It can't be used in British English, but can be in American English. Commented Dec 25, 2019 at 5:57
Just some samples from literature:
- Just tell me already.
- Then move me already.
- Miss me already?
- I mean, you trust me already.
- People hate me already.
I think this word can be used this way.
Context of first sentence:
“Kel?”
"Colder.” I wasn’t trying to be annoying; I just didn’t know if I was ready to share such fresh, earthshaking news.
“Just tell me already. What?”
I pressed both hands to my abdomen. “Baby.”
This sentence from the book Agave Kiss
Context of second sentence:
“Wha?” One eye blinked open.
“I’ve got to move you.”
He closed his eye again. “Then move me already.”
“No, not like that. Like off the bed.”
This sentence from the book Nightshifted.
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if you provide samples, please provide links so that people can check the context. Commented Dec 15, 2019 at 9:26
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1The last three are the standard use of already. "[Do you] miss me already?" = "Have you started to miss me?" The first two, I think, are the American Jewish usage described by JavaLatte below. Commented Dec 15, 2019 at 9:33
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