Difference between revisions of "Particle"

Latest revision as of 03:38, 30 May 2016

Also known as: 助词 (zhùcí).

Particles are function words that depend on other words or phrases to impart meaning. They're kind of like prepositions, but more abstract. In Chinese, the key ones are aspectual particles (for indicating aspect), structural particles (for indicating relationships between words), and modal particles (for indicating mood). Chinese particles are also special words because they tend to always take the neutral tone.

Characteristics

To start off, particles don't have an inherent meaning on their own, they depend on the context to give meaning. This means that they can't be used alone, because otherwise they wouldn't mean anything! Because of this, they cannot be sentence elements (such as subject, object, etc.). When they do appear, they always appear at the end of a phrase, modifying the entire thing. Finally, particles always have a neutral tone.

Functions

Particles in Chinese can do all sorts of different things. They can indicate mood, time, relationship, voice, etc. Again, all of this has to do with the particle and the context it's in. Particles don't mean anything without context.

Subcategories

Grammar Patterns for Particles

A1 Particles

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	Examples
Expressing close possession without "de"	Pronoun + Noun	我女朋友
Expressing possession with "de"	Noun 1 + 的 + Noun 2	我的老师
Questions with "ne"	⋯⋯呢 ?	我很好。你呢 ?
Suggestions with "ba"	Command + 吧	我们走吧。

A2 Particles

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	Examples
Change of state with "le"	⋯⋯了	我 25 岁了。
Conceding with "ba"	⋯⋯吧	那好吧。
Expressing "already" with just "le"	Subj. + Verb Phrase + 了	你应该问老师。我问了。
Expressing "not anymore" with "le"	不 / 没(有) + Verb Phrase + 了	我不想吃了。
Expressing "now" with "le"	New Situation + 了	吃饭了！
Expressing completion with "le"	Subj. + Verb + 了 + Obj.	我吃了两个苹果。
Expressing experiences with "guo"	Verb + 过	我去过中国。
Modal particle "ne"	⋯⋯呢 ?	我不要回家。还早呢！
Sentence-final interjection "a"	⋯⋯啊	是啊！谁啊？
Softening speech with "ba"	⋯⋯吧	这样不太好吧。
Structural particle "de"	的 / 得 / 地	红色的车，跑得很快，慢慢地走
Using "guo" with "le"	Verb + 过 + 了	她吃过了。

B1 Particles

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	Examples
Advanced yes-no questions with "ma"	Confirmation + Question + 吗？	你要什么吗 ?
Aspect particle "zhe"	Verb + 着	我读，你听着。
Expressing the self-evident with "ma"	Statement + 嘛	大家有话就说嘛。
Reviewing options with "ba"	Option 1吧，⋯⋯ ；Option 2 吧，⋯⋯	不说吧，他还会做错；说吧，他肯定不高兴。
Using "de" (modal particle)	⋯⋯的	我不会骗你的。

B2 Particles

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	Examples
Advanced "le" after an object	Verb + Obj. + 了	我吃了早饭。
Advanced "le" with complements	Subj. + Verb + 了 + Complement	走了上去。
Marking a topic with "ma"	Statement + 嘛	大家有话就说嘛。
Softening the tone of questions with "ne"	⋯⋯呢？	他人在哪呢？

C1 Particles

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	Examples
Expressing "is or is not" with "shifou"	是否 + Verb/Adjective	我不知道如果那个房间是否有足够空间。
Expressing "whether or not" with "yufou"	Verb/Adjective + 与否	成功与否，都靠自己。
Expressing possession with "zhi"	Noun + 之 + Noun	这些解决问题的方式仍然有不足之处。
Using the particle "bei"	Sentence + 呗	如果你不想去就不去呗。

Sources and further reading

Books

外国人实用汉语语法(中英文对照) (pp. 131 - 150)
Practicing HSK Grammar (pp. 121 - 140)

Websites

Chinese particles (Wikipedia)

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-{{stub}}
 {{AKA|助词 (zhùcí)}}
-Particles are function words that depend on other words or phrases to impart meaning. They are a fun aspect of Chinese that English doesn't really have. This article will explain what particles are, what they are used for, and where you can find them.
+Particles are [[function word]]s that depend on other words or phrases to impart meaning. They're kind of like prepositions, but more abstract. In Chinese, the key ones are aspectual particles (for indicating aspect), structural particles (for indicating relationships between words), and modal particles (for indicating mood). Chinese particles are also special words because they tend to always take the neutral tone.
 ==Characteristics==