How to use Encore

Did you know the word Encore meant 3 different things in French? And did you know that the one time you do use the French word Encore, we don’t?

Did you? Well then, we’d better investigate!

Vous êtes prêt?

Encore means 3 things for us.

Numéro 1: Yet

Je n’ai pas encore commencé mon régime. I haven’t started my diet yet.
Tu as parlé à ta soeur? Pas encore. Did you speak to your sister? Not yet.
Je suis inquiète, elle n’a pas encore reçu mon cadeau. I am worried, she hasn’t received my present yet.

Numéro 2: Still

Après tout ce que tu as mangé, tu as encore faim?! After all you ate, you are still hungry?!
Elle ne l’a pas oublié, elle pense encore à lui. She hasn’t forgotten him, she still thinks about him.

And now to make it a little more fun:

Elle ne l’a pas encore oublié, elle pense encore à lui. She hasn’t forgotten him yet, she still thinks about him.

Attention! Here’s a typical mistake! Very often, people say “pas encore” when they really mean “plus”.

Par exemple: Tu travailles encore pour tes voisins? Are you STILL working for your neighbors?

If your answer is “no longer” typically people answer “pas encore” NON NON NON that is wrong!

Pas encore means not yet! You want to say “plus”: Je ne travaille plus pour mes voisins. I no longer work for my neighbors.

Another little tricky thing to look out for! Sometimes, encore as in still is also said toujours. Now you know that most of the time toujours means always. Sometimes it means still. Encore & toujours can be interchangeable. Then you have to go with context.

Par exemple, J’ai toujours envie d’écrire un livre could mean either I always want to write a book, or, I still want to write a book. In French, I still want to write a book can be said in 2 different ways: J’ai toujours envie d’écrire un livre or J’ai encore envie d’écrire un livre.

Numéro 3: Again

J’ai encore appelé l’assurance mais ils ne répondent jamais! I called the insurance again but they never answer.

Ça ne marche toujours pas, recommence encore une fois. It still doesn’t work, try again.

Encore des nouvelles chaussures? Again new shoes?

By the way, at the end of a concert, when you want the singer to come back for another song, in English people use the French word encore, which is funny because we don’t. We say une autre une autre une autre: another one!