ya había

there was already

I had already

ya había(yah ah-bee-ah)

phrase

1. (there was already present)

a. there was already (singular)

Cuando llegué a la zona del incendio, ya había un escuadrón de bomberos combatiendo el fuego.

When I arrived at the scene of the fire, there was already a squad of firefighters trying to put it out.

b. there were already (plural)

Cuando llegué al estadio, ya había diez personas haciendo fila.

When I arrived to the stadium, there were already ten people standing in line.

2. (used in compound tenses; first person singular)

a. I had already

Álvaro me preguntó si quería comida, pero ya había comido.

Alvaro asked me if I wanted some food, but I had already eaten.

3. (used in compound tenses; third person singular)

a. he had already

(masculine)

Le dije a Pablo que tomáramos el autobús, ya había frenado un taxi.

I told Pablo that we should take the bus, but he had already hailed a taxi.

b. she had already

(feminine)

Laura fue al supermercado, pero se olvidó que ya había hecho las compras el día anterior.

Laura went to the supermarket, but she forgot she had already gone grocery shopping the previous day.

c. it had already

Cuando me acordé de que el coche estaba afuera y no en el garaje, ya había empezado a granizar.

When I remembered that the car was outside and not in the garage, it had already started to hail.

d. had already

Cuando llegaron los bomberos, mi vecino ya había apagado el incendio.

When the firefighters arrived, my neighbor had already put out the fire.

4.

(formal)

(used in compound tenses; second person singular)

a. you had already

Entendí mal, señor. Pensé que ya había hecho una reserva.

I misunderstood, sir. I thought you had already made a reservation.