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 English, particles are used to indicate various grammatical relationships between words in a sentence. They can be used to modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
Particles: Types
There are different types of particles in English Grammar. The most common ones are:
- Adverb Particles
- Grammatical Particle (the infinitive marker to)
- Discourse Particles
- The Negative Particle
Adverb Particles
Phrasal verbs consist of a verb followed by a particle or a preposition to create a specific, idiomatic meaning. In this usage, particles function like adverbs, modifying and expanding the meaning of the verbs. As a result, they are referred to as adverb particles.
How to Identify an Adverb Particle from a Preposition?
Distinguishing between particles and prepositions in phrasal verbs can be difficult because they look the same.
The main difference between particles and prepositions is that particles do not and cannot introduce a prepositional phrase, but the preposition in a phrasal verb always does. 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. So, it is a particle.
Do you have a few minutes to
She will
He
As you can see, the phrasal verbs in the last two examples are created using 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 'eat' to form the phrasal verb 'eat up'.
I was driving
In this sentence, 'along' is an adverb particle, joining 'drive' to form the phrasal verb 'drive along'. It is almost unnecessary to use 'along' in the example, and the meaning of the sentence would be complete without it.
She got upset and walked
Why Do We Use Particles?
You may wonder why English uses particles at all. While there is no clear answer and linguists do not agree on their reasons, it's important to note that phrasal verbs that use adverb particles have become increasingly common over time.
Adverbial particles give additional and expanding meaning to the sentences. Compare the following examples:
Liza ate
Liza
The difference between 'eat' and 'eat up' is their level of detail. 'Eat up' is slightly more detailed and more visual than 'eat.'
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 meaning on its own.
'up' is a particle creating a phrasal verb
Tip!
Keep in mind that 'to' can also be a preposition, as in 'I'm going
Now let's look at some examples where 'to' acts as the infinitive marker:
She wants
Justin hopes
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 consider them conjunctions.
Discourse Particles
Discourse markers have little or no meaning on their own and are only used to indicate 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 English.
Negative Particle
The English language has one negative particle and that is the word 'not'. Take a look at the examples:
He is
I do
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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Complex Prepositions
Complex prepositions are created by combining two or more simple prepositions like out of and as for. In this lesson, we will discover more about them.
Participle Prepositions
Some participles (i.e. verbs ending with '-ing', '-en' or '-ed') can sometimes act as a preposition. In this lesson, we will learn about the most common ones.
Postpositions
Post means after therefore a preposition that comes after its complement or object is called a postposition.
Conjunctions
To connect two sentences to each other, we need some words to link them without breaking the structure of the sentences. Let us learn these linking words.
