Use of some adverbs (continued from last week.)

'Yet' is used in negative sentences to say that something has not happened up to the present time. It is an adverb.
Melvin has not finished writing his column yet.
Melvin has not yet finished writing his column.

If something has not happened, and you do not expect that it will, you can say:
'Three months have gone by, and the police have yet to arrest the burglar.'

In a question, we use ÒyetÓ to ask if something has happened.
Have you eaten yet?

If you notice the use of the past tense in this kind of question, you can presume that the speaker is of American origin.

The last word, 'instead', is also an adverb. It is used when you want to say that something is done in place of something else that has already been mentioned.
Bill did not react when his mother told him to get ready for dinner. Instead, he kept playing with his new toy.

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From a radio programme

Dear Dr English,

Listening to the radio, I wonder what the words "tolerant" and "fluid society" in the following conversation mean.
Q: What would you say are the good points about Britain as a country?
A: Well, I think the good point about London is that London is still a very tolerant and very relaxed place, and most people, I find, are very friendly. It's still a very fluid society. If you go to America, you'll find a much more ghettoised society....
Thank you

Thida U.

When someone is tolerant they show respect for the rights, opinions, practices and beliefs of other people. In other words, a tolerant person is broad-minded.
A fluid is a liquid that moves smoothly and without any fixed pattern. When we use it as an adjective to describe a situation, it shows that something is relaxed and smooth.
A fluid society is the society that allows social changes, especially a change in social status without having to face any problems from any group in the society.

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