I have yet... (I have yet to meet her, I have yet to do this or that)

[Alan]

Hi Sandy,

'i have yet to do it' in contrast to 'I haven't done it yet' suggests that the decision whether to do it or not still hangs in the air. 'I haven't done it yet' has no such uncertainty because it is a simple statement of fact

You could refer to a common expression that indicates something is in the air or undecided and that is: The jury is still out on that.

That is the similar kind of idea with 'have yet to'.

Take these two sentences in answer to a question:

A Which university have you decided to attend?

B I haven't decided yet = statement of fact.

B I have yet to decide = ambiguous answer = I'm still thinking about the choices.

Alan
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[OxfordBlues]

Alan,

I think your logic works for the verb decide, but not in general.

I don't think 'I've yet to cook dinner' has any implication of the decision to cook being up in the air. Likewise, 'He has yet to finish his homework,' or 'She had yet to rinse her hair when the water turned off.'

Thoughts?
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[Sandy1]

Thanks Mr.Alan for answering my qoustion about formality in english and for this clarification.

[Alan]

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Hi Drew,

I follow what you say but that raises the question whether you would actually use a rather 'airy' and fanciful expression such as 'have yet to' with mundane statements about cooking, finishing homework and rinsing hair. To revert to the cliche I quoted above 'the jury is still out' you wouldn't say: The jury is still out on whether I'll cook the dinner!

Alan
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[OxfordBlues]

Right, but what I'm saying is that I don't think it has the implication of n unresolved decision at all. That is, that that's not a use of yet. 'I have yet to...' is very common in many dialects (mine for one) and the 'jur's still out' concept is not part of its use.
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[Alan]

So, let's hear about your 'dialect' and how it interprets 'I have yet to'.

Alan
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[OxfordBlues]

The use is simply that an activity that is understood to be either expected, planned, or in progress has not been done as of the time of the utterance or if another time is mentioned, as of that time:

Would you like to go out to eat?
I have yet to do my laundry. Could we go this evening instead?

I had yet to make it to the petrol station when my car began to stall. I just knew I would end up pushing it!

My wife and I had a lovely dinner at the pub.
At the new one? I've yet to try it.

There is definitely not a single aspect of pending decision in any of these. Could you provide some examples of your this idea of decision (without using the verb decide)?
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[Alan]

Hi Drew,

This one:

[OxfordBlues]

Not a pending decision to me, perhaps this is yet another case of how different forms can have totally different connotations in varying dialects.

Oh well, we'll add this to the list of things that make English interesting ;)
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[OxfordBlues]

I was just reading an article about the SAAB - GM deal and just thought I'd paste part of it here because of the final sentence:

Spyker said its offer would remain valid until Monday at 5pm Eastern Standard Time -- 11pm on Monday in Sweden.

"Despite our collective eleventh hour set-back, we are returning to the table with a renewed offer, that addresses every known issue brought to light during the initial negotiations and that has the full backing of the Saab Management," said Muller.

"The new offer eliminates the need for an EIB loan approval prior to year end, for example, which will allow the deal to be concluded within GM's deadline," he added.

General Motors has yet to comment on the new bid.
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[Cerberus™]

Could it be that there are several levels of meaning to these phrases, at some of which there is a difference between them, while at others there is none?

- I have yet to conquer Europe.
- I have not yet conquered Europe.
A crude example of possible levels:

Basic level: no difference: both have the simple meaning that this conquest has not yet been done.

Higher level 1: "I have yet to" is more often used to indicate that the conquest is expected or planned to be done than "I have not yet"; the latter also has this sense of planning or expectation, but to a lesser degree.
- I have yet to conquer Europe: I have some intention of conquering Europe.
- I have not yet conquered Europe: I may have some intention of conquering Europe.

Higher level 2: a speaker can choose to present his statement as something that has a greater or lesser degree of expectation or planning than something else, even if this degree is in fact equal in both; he would do this for rhetorical reasons.

Higher level 3: the choice that would have been made based on a lower level can be modified if it is affected by certain contexts:
- A higher register calls for "have yet to" with certain speakers in certain situations;
- "Have yet to" is preferred if the statement as a whole is intended to mean that the action probably cannot be done at all: "Her Y chromosome, you say? Ha, I have yet to meet a woman with a Y chromosome!".
- In some contexts "have yet to" may be influenced by "have to", which may give it a slight sense of obligation: "I have yet to do the laundry" (> I have to do the laundry).
- Etc.