Using ya/ya no meaning now/already/finally/any longer

We use the Spanish adverbs "ya" and "ya no" with different tenses to express either "now" , "already", "finally" with ya, or "anymore/any longer" with ya no.

Ya to express "now"

We use "ya" followed generally by El Presente or El Imperativo when we want to say that we are doing the action right now, to express "I am doing it now" or "Do it now!" as in these examples:

Ya to express "already"

We can use "ya" with different tenses to express "already", for example:

Ya to express "finally"

We usually use ya with El Pretérito Indefinido to express finally [something happened] or at last, as if the speaker was expecting it to happen after a long wait. Here are some examples:

For "ya" with perfect tenses see also:

• Use of ya in Spanish with the present perfect tense (El Pretérito Perfecto)
• Using ya with the pluperfect tense in Spanish (El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto)

Ya no to express "no longer, no more"

We use "ya no" with different tenses to express "not doing something any more/any longer", for example:

Ya to express "eventually"

We use ya with El Futuro Simple to express "eventually", i.e. for an action that will happen eventually but we are not sure when, although it is the speaker's intention.

For example, imagine your kid comes to you and says: "Papá, ¿cuándo me vas a comprar la bicicleta que me prometiste? (Dad, when are you going to buy that bike you promised me?) and if you are not sure about committing to it you would reply:

Then to reassure him you could say:

There are other uses of "ya" that are more idiomatic, for example, to indicate that you've had enough you can say:

See also Use of ya in Spanish with the present perfect tense (El Pretérito Perfecto) and Using ya with the pluperfect tense in Spanish (El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto) 

You can also watch this video from Get fluent Spanish about the different uses of "ya":