I’m currently in the market for online Spanish tutoring. I’m conversational, but I’d love to be fluent.
A potential tutor asked me over email what areas I’d like to work on, and my response was, “There are some verb structures I never get right.”
But I immediately felt uncomfortable about that reply, so I changed it to say, “There are some verb structures I haven’t got right yet.”
The difference is subtle, but significant.
“Never” hints at defeat before we’ve even begun; even if we have an aspiration to improve.
Whereas “not yet” says we aren’t quite there, but we’re on our way to better places.
When taking on new challenges, the words we choose set the tone for the journey ahead.