Particles
Particles are words that have a grammatical function but do not fit into the main parts of speech. In order to learn about them, start studying them right here!
What Are Particles?
'Particle' comes from Latin and it means 'a share' or 'a part.' In grammar, a particle is a word that has a grammatical function but does not fit into the main parts of speech.
Particles: Types
We have different types of particles in English Grammar. The most common ones are:
- Adverb Particles
- Grammatical Particle (the infinitive marker to)
- Discourse Particles
- Negative Particle
Adverb Particles
Phrasal verbs consist of a verb followed by a particle or a preposition to create a specific, idiomatic meaning.
How to Identify an Adverb Particle from a Preposition?
Because particles and prepositions look the same, knowing when a phrasal verb is using one or the other, might be difficult.
But, particles are used more like adverbs. They modify and expand the meaning of the verbs. For this reason, particles are sometimes referred to as adverb particles or even just adverbs.
The crucial difference between particles and prepositions is that particles do not and cannot introduce a prepositional phrase, but the preposition in a phrasal verb always will. Let's compare some examples:
All my old books were
'Up' in the phrasal verb 'take up' changes the meaning of the verb, but it does not introduce a prepositional phrase expressing direction, location, time, or possession. So, it is a particle.
Do you have a few minutes to
Now take a look at some examples with phrasal verbs that are made with prepositions in order to clarify the differences:
She will
He
As you can see, the phrasal verbs in the examples above are created by a preposition rather than a particle, because the information that comes immediately after the phrasal verb completes a prepositional phrase. Without these prepositional phrases, the sentences would be incomplete.
Liza
'Up' in this example is the adverb particle, joining with 'eat' to form the phrasal verb 'eat up'.
I was driving
In this sentence, 'along' is the adverb particle, joining with 'drive' to form the phrasal verb 'drive along'. It is almost unnecessary to use 'along' in the example, and we could still fully understand the meaning of the sentence without it.
Why We Use Particles?
You may wonder why to use particles in English at all? There is not a clear answer to this one and linguists do not agree on the reasons for these particles, but you should know that phrasal verbs that use adverb particles have become more common over time.
She got upset and walked
Adverbial particles give additional and expanding meaning to the sentences. Look at this example again:
Liza ate
Without the adverb particle, the sentence would be like this:
Liza
The difference between 'eat' and 'eat up' is nuance. 'Eat up' is a bit detailed and more visual than 'eat.'
Tip!
Particles perform very subtle roles in sentences, but their existence adds flavor and extended detailed meaning.
Grammatical Particle
The infinitive 'to' is an example of a grammatical particle. It is also called an infinitive marker. The Infinitive marker does not have any meanings on its own.
'up' is a particle creating a phrasal verb
Tip!
However, 'to' can also be a preposition, for example in 'I'm going
Now let's look at some examples where 'to' acts as the infinitive marker:
She wants
Justin hopes
Discourse Particles
Discourse markers have little or no meaning on their own and are only used to show the emotion and attitude of the speaker; therefore, their inclusion or exclusion does not affect the grammatical correctness of the sentence.
'Well' and 'now' are two examples of discourse markers in the English language.
Negative Particle
The English language has one main negative particle and that is the word 'not'.
He is
I do
Tip!
The words 'yes' and 'no' are sometimes categorized as grammatical particles as they do not fit into the main parts of speech. But some people describe them as conjunctions.
Review
What Are the Particles?
Particles are not considered as main word classes, but they are words that are used to make us more clear and They even work to make some phrasal verbs, infinitives, etc.
Here are four different types of particles:
- Adverb Particles
- Grammatical Particle
- Discourse Particles
- Negative Particle
Adverb Particles and Grammatical Particles
Adverb particles are added to phrasal verbs to make them clear, but there is a point that is important to know; adverb particles cannot introduce a 'prepositional phrase'. The grammatical particle is the word 'to' that is used to make infinitives. Also, keep in mind that it does not have any meaning on its own.
The girls finally lived
Discourse Particles and Negative Particles
Discourse markers come in the sentence to show emotions, they have little or no meanings so deleting them from the sentence makes no difference. A negative marker (not) is put after the auxiliary verbs to negate the sentences. It has no meaning on its own.
My boss did
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