In linguistics, modal particles are a type of grammatical particle used in a sentence to add extra meaning, particularly in spoken language. [1] Modal particles have various functions, including adding emotion or emphasis, [2] or to express how sentence content is grounded in common knowledge between the speaker and participants. [3]
Languages that use many modal particles in their spoken form include Dutch, Danish, German, Hungarian, Russian, Telugu, Nepali, Norwegian, Indonesian, Sinitic languages, and Japanese. [4] Modal particles are often context-dependent and difficult to translate.
The German particle ja is used to indicate that a sentence contains information that is obvious or already known to both the speaker and the hearer. The sentence Der neue Teppich ist rot means "The new carpet is red". Der neue Teppich ist ja rot may thus mean "As we are both aware, the new carpet is red", which would typically be followed by some conclusion from this fact. However, if the speaker says the same thing upon first seeing the new carpet, the meaning is "I'm seeing that the carpet is obviously red", which would typically express surprise. In speech the latter meaning can be inferred from a strong emphasis on rot and higher-pitched voice.
In Dutch, modal particles are frequently used to add mood to a sentence, especially in spoken language. For instance: [2]
Modal particles may be combined to indicate mood in a very precise way. In this combination of six modal particles the first two emphasise the command, the second two are toning down the command, and the final two transform the command into a request:
Because of this progressive alteration these modal particles cannot move around freely when stacked in this kind of combination. However, some other modal particles can be added to the equation on any given place, such as gewoon, juist, trouwens. Also, replacing the "imperative weakener" maar by gewoon (indicating normalcy or acceptable behavior), changes the mood of the sentence completely, now indicating utter frustration with someone who is failing to do something very simple:
In grammar, the term particle has a traditional meaning, as a part of speech that cannot be inflected, and a modern meaning, as a function word (functor) associated with another word or phrase in order to impart meaning. Although a particle may have an intrinsic meaning and may fit into other grammatical categories, the fundamental idea of the particle is to add context to the sentence, expressing a mood or indicating a specific action.
The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request.
In grammar, a future tense is a verb form that generally marks the event described by the verb as not having happened yet, but expected to happen in the future. An example of a future tense form is the French achètera, meaning "will buy", derived from the verb acheter. The "future" expressed by the future tense usually means the future relative to the moment of speaking, although in contexts where relative tense is used it may mean the future relative to some other point in time under consideration.
This article outlines the grammar of the Dutch language, which shares strong similarities with German grammar and also, to a lesser degree, with English grammar.
Simon Carmiggelt was a Dutch writer, journalist, and poet who became a well known public figure in the Netherlands because of his daily newspaper columns and his television appearances.
German modal particles are uninflected words that are used mainly in the spontaneous spoken language in colloquial registers in German. Their dual function is to reflect the mood or the attitude of the speaker or the narrator and to highlight the sentence's focus.
Sentence-final particles, including modal particles, interactional particles, etc., are minimal lexemes (words) that occur at the end of a sentence and that do not carry referential meaning, but may relate to linguistic modality, register or other pragmatic effects. Sentence-final particles are common in Chinese, including particles such as Mandarin le 了, ne 呢, ba 吧, ou 哦, a 啊, la 啦, ya 呀, and ma 嗎/吗, and Cantonese lo 囉 and ge 嘅. These particles act as qualifiers of the clause or sentence they end. Sentence-final particles are also present in Japanese and many East Asian languages, such as Thai, and especially in languages that have undergone heavy Sino-Tibetan influence, such as the Monguor languages.
Kinderen voor Kinderen is a Dutch children's choir maintained by public broadcaster BNNVARA. Since 1980 the choir has released one album of new children's songs each year, and is probably the only act from the 1980s with consecutive albums in the top 40 chart. The ideas for the songs generally come from children who write in. Well-known Dutch lyricists then turn submitted ideas into finished songs.
Araki is a nearly extinct language spoken in the small island of Araki, south of Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu. Araki is gradually being replaced by Tangoa, a language from a neighbouring island.
The Diamond Film is a film award recognising domestic box office achievements in the Netherlands. The Diamond Film is awarded to films from the Netherlands once they have sold 1,000,000 cinema tickets or more during the original circulation. The award is initiated by the Netherlands Film Festival and the Netherlands Film Fund in addition to the Golden Film for 100,000 visitors, the Platinum Film for 400,000 visitors, and the Crystal Film for 10,000 visitors of a documentary film.
René Froger, is a Dutch singer.
Liliane Saint-Pierre is a Belgian pop singer. Hailing from Flanders, she sings mostly in Dutch. She competed at Eurovision Song Contest 1987 with the song "Soldiers of Love".
"Ik heb een potje met vet" is a traditional song in the Dutch language. It was traditionally sung by soldiers, popularised in 1974 by the Dutch band Hydra with three verses added to the chorus, and now is very popular for singing during long walks and bus journeys. The song is also popular amongst lesbians because potje is the diminutive of the pot, originally a swearword for lesbians, but successfully reappropriated as a word for proud self-identification. It can be seen as the Dutch version of the similar English song "99 Bottles of Beer".
In linguistics, grammatical mood is a grammatical feature of verbs, used for signaling modality. That is, it is the use of verbal inflections that allow speakers to express their attitude toward what they are saying. The term is also used more broadly to describe the syntactic expression of modality – that is, the use of verb phrases that do not involve inflection of the verb itself.
The subjunctive in Dutch is a verb mood typically used in dependent clauses to express a wish, command, emotion, possibility, uncertainty, doubt, judgment, opinion, necessity, or action that has not yet occurred.
In linguistics and grammar, affirmation and negation are ways in which grammar encodes positive and negative polarity into verb phrases, clauses, or other utterances. An affirmative (positive) form is used to express the validity or truth of a basic assertion, while a negative form expresses its falsity. For example, the affirmative sentence "Joe is here" asserts that it is true that Joe is currently located near the speaker. Conversely, the negative sentence "Joe is not here" asserts that it is not true that Joe is currently located near the speaker.
Shirley Zwerus, stage name Shirley is a Dutch singer and pianist. Her records were released internationally on Fontana Records from 1969.
Skik is a Dutch pop group, originating from the town of Erica, Drenthe. The band mainly sings in Drèents, a variation of Low-Saxon, which is traditionally spoken in Drenthe. Skik is Drèents for fun or enjoyment.