Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ to show that something has happened, or that something had happened before the moment you are referring to. Speakers of British English use ~ with a verb in a perfect tense, putting it after ‘have’, ‘has’, or ‘had’, or at the end of a clause. Some speakers of American English use ~ with the simple past tense of the verb instead of a perfect tense.
They had ~ voted for him at the first ballot...
I ~ told you not to come over...
They’ve spent nearly a billion dollars on it ~.
ADV: ADV before v, cl ADV
2.
You use ~ to show that a situation exists at this present moment or that it exists at an earlier time than expected. You use ~ after the verb ‘be’ or an auxiliary verb, or before a verb if there is no auxiliary. When you want add emphasis, you can put ~ at the beginning of a sentence.
The authorities believe those security measures are ~ paying off...
He was ~ rich...
Get 10% off our ~ low prices!...
Already, he has a luxurious villa in Formello.
ADV: ADV before v, ADV with group