Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ in negative statements to indicate that something has not happened up to the present time, although it probably will happen. You can also use ~ in questions to ask if something has happened up to the present time. In British English the simple past tense is not normally used with this meaning of ‘~’.
They haven’t finished ~...
No decision has ~ been made...
She hasn’t ~ set a date for her marriage...
‘Has the murderer been caught?’—‘Not ~.’...
Have you met my husband ~?...
Hammer-throwing for women is not ~ a major event.
ADV: usu with brd-neg, ADV with v, ADV group
2.
You use ~ with a negative statement when you are talking about the past, to report something that was not the case then, although it became the case later.
There was so much that Sam didn’t know ~...
He had asked around and learned that Billy was not ~ here.
ADV: usu with brd-neg, ADV with v, ADV group
3.
If you say that something should not or cannot be done ~, you mean that it should not or cannot be done now, although it will have to be done at a later time.
Don’t get up ~...
The hostages cannot go home just ~...
We should not ~ abandon this option for the disposal of highly radioactive waste.
ADV: with brd-neg, ADV with v
4.
You use ~ after a superlative to indicate, for example, that something is the worst or the best of its kind up to the present time.
This is the BBC’s worst idea ~...
Her latest novel is her best ~.
...one of the toughest warnings ~ delivered.
ADV: n ADV, ADV adv/-ed, ADV after superl
5.
You can use ~ to say that there is still a possibility that something will happen.
A negotiated settlement might ~ be possible.
= still
ADV: ADV before v
6.
You can use ~ after expressions which refer to a period of time, when you want to say how much longer a situation will continue for.
Unemployment will go on rising for some time ~...
Nothing will happen for a few years ~...
They’ll be ages ~.
ADV: n ADV
7.
If you say that you have ~ to do something, you mean that you have never done it, especially when this is surprising or bad.
She has ~ to spend a Christmas with her husband...
He has been nominated three times for the Oscar but has ~ to win.
ADV: ADV to-inf
8.
You can use ~ to introduce a fact which is rather surprising after the previous fact you have just mentioned.
I don’t eat much, ~ I am a size 16...
It is completely waterproof, ~ light and comfortable.
= but
CONJ
9.
You can use ~ to emphasize a word, especially when you are saying that something is surprising because it is more extreme than previous things of its kind, or a further case of them.
I saw ~ another doctor...
They would criticize me, or worse ~, pay me no attention...
It is plain to see we will not have anything to eat ~ again.
ADV: ADV with adj/n/adv, usu ADV with compar emphasis
10.
You use as ~ with negative statements to describe a situation that has existed up until the present time. (FORMAL)
As ~ it is not known whether the crash was the result of an accident...
PHRASE: PHR with cl