Chapter 2

Particles
2.1 Subject partcles and Object particles
2.1.1 Subject particles
Burmese is the nominative – accusative language.
1.(ka)
The Subject can appear with the case marker (ka) But the presence
of ka is completely optional in Burmese . This perticle express who
perfrom the action. (ka) can be called the subject particle. The
following particle make the noun
to become the topic of the sentence. They follow noun and
pronoun.
a.သသ-သ သသသသ-သသသသ
Thu-ka pjo-thi
He-subject marker speak-dec
He speaks.
b. သသ- (သ) သသသသသသသ -(သသသ) သသသ-သသသသ
thu-(ka) panthi-(ko) sa:-thi
he-(subject marker) (apple-object marker) eat-particle
He eat an apple.

2. (thi)
This particle is mostly in writing or in formal speech, such as news
broadcasts.
b. သသ-သသသ သသသသသသသ-သသသသ-သသသသ
thu-thi panjashi-pji-thi
he-subject marker wise man-is-dec
He is a wise man
3. (ma)
c. သသ-သသသ သသသသသသသ-သသသသ-သသ-သသသသ
thu-ma sukuba- twin-nei- thi
he-subject marker tsukuba- in- live- dec
He lives in tsukuba.

3. Ha
This particle is used both writing and speaking. It is mostly used in
speaking
and speech. If the speaker uses the particle (ha) , he want the
listener to focus the preceding facts about the subject. He wants to
explain more about
the background, the situation or the events of the subject.
In most speech, whenever the particle (ha) is used , the
serious or
important explanation preceding in the next sentences. The particle
(ha) modifies the subject . The particle (ha) is used when the
speaker want to give reasons , explanation, modification about
subject. The particle (ka) and (thi)
 simply express the subject. But the particle (ha) is more serious
than
the particle (ka) and (thi).
a. သသ-သသ သသသသသ-သသ-သသသသ
thu-ha pjo-nei-thi
he-subject marker happy-progressive-particle
He is happy.
b. သသ-သသ သသသသသသသသ-(ko) သသသသသ-
သသသ-သသသသ
thu-ha sameipjwe-(ko) aun:-ke-
tel
he-subject marker examination-(object marker) pass-past-
particle
He passed the examination.

2.1.2 Object particle

4.(Ko)
Object particle (ko) must be attached to the object.
a. သသသသသ-သ သသသ-သသသ သသသသသသ-သသသသသသသ သသသ-သသသသ
gjon-ka thu-ko saoke-tioke pei-
thi
John-subject marker he-object marker book-a give-dec
John give him a book.

In sentence 4.a the particle (ka) is completely optional. It can be

omitted. But
The object marker (ko) cannot be omitted.

5. (a:)
a. သသသသသ -(သ) သသ-သသသ သသ-သသသသသသ-(သသသ)
သသသ-သသသသ
gjon-(ka) thu-a: di-saoke-(ko)
pei-thi
John-subject marker he-object marker this-book
give-particle
John give him a book.
In above sentence the subject marker (ko) and the direct object
marker (ko)
can be omitted. But the indirect object marker (a:) cannot be
omitted.

The functions of the particle (thi)

The functions of the particle (thi) can be explained as follow.
(1) To express the subject in the sentence. (Subject Marker)
(2) To used as pronoun in the sentence.
(3) To express the present tense and past tense in the sentence.

(1) To express the subject in the sentence. (Subject Marker)

Normally the particle (thi) express the subject and it is used in the
statement.
a. သသသသသ-သသသ သသသ သသသသ-သသသသ
U Hla-thi saya pji-thi
U Hla-subject marker teacher is-particle
U Hla is a teacher.
In this sentence ,the particle (thi) indicate who is a teacher.
b. သသသ-သသသ သသသသ-သသသ သသသ-သသသသ
Ma Hla-thi pan-ko ku:-thi
Ma Hla-subject marker flower-object marker pick –particle
Ma Hla pick a flower.
In this sentence , the particle (thi) indicate who do the action.

(2) To used as pronoun in the sentence.

The particle can be used as a pronoun in the sentences.
a. သသသသသသသသ-သသသသသသ သသသသသ-သသသ
mja.tkin-po:ma tai’-pa
lawn-on sit-particle
Sit on the lawn.
b. သသသ-သသသ သသသသသ-သသသ
thi-mar tai’-pa
here-down sit-particle
Sit down here.
In above sentences , the particle (thi) can be used instead of lawn.

(3) To express the present tense and past tense in the sentence.
The particle is used in the present tense and past tense sentences.
a. သသသသ သသသသသသသ သသသသ-သသသသ
janei jathiutu thaja-thi
today weather fine-particle.
The weather is fine today.
In this sentence, the particle (thi) indicates the present tense.
b. သသသသ- သ သသသသသသသ သသသသ-သသသသ
manei-ka jathiutu thaja-thi
Yesterday-particle weather fine-particle
The weather is fine yesterday.
In this sentence , the particle (thi) express the past tense.

2.2 Direction or Goal particles

(thou)
The particle (thou) express the goal or direction and it follows after
the place.
a. သသ သသသသသသသ -သသသသ သသသသ-သသသသ
nga kjau-thou thwaː-thi
I school- particle ɡo-dec
I go to school.

Leaving
The particles (ka) and (ma) express the the point of leaving time or arrivinɡ
time and they express the place that the subject start leaving and arrivinɡ .
1. ka
a. သသသသသသသ -သ သသ-သသသ-သသသသ
Yangon-ka la-ke-tel
Yangon-particle come-past-dec.
I came from Yangon.
(It shows that he come from Yangon)
b. သသ သသသသ -သ သသသသသသသ -သသသသ
sel nari-ka joula-tel
10 o’clock-particle arrive-dec
I arrived at 10 o’clock.
(It shows that he arrived at 10 o’clock)
c. သသ သသသသ -u သသသသသသ -သသသသ
sel nari-ka tweakla-tel
10 o’clock-particle leave-dec
I left at 10 o’clock.
(It shows that he start leaving at 10 o’clock)

d. သသသသသသသ -သသ သသ-သသသ-သသသသ

Yangon-ma la-ke-tel
Yangon-particle come-past-dec.
I came from Yangon.
(It shows that he come from Yangon)
e. သသ သသသသ -သသ သသသသသသသ-သသသသ
sel nari-ma joula-tel
10 o’clock-particle arrive-dec
I arrived at 10 o’clock.
(It shows that he arrived at 10 o’clock)
f. သသ သသသသ -သသ သသသသသသ-သသသသ
sel nari-ma tweakla-tel
10 o’clock-particle leave-dec
I left at 10 o’clock.
(It shows that he start leaving at 10 o’clock)

Ko
g. သသသသသသသ-သသသ သသ-သသသ-သသသသ
Yangon-ko la-ke-tel
Yangon-particle come-past-dec.
I came from Yangon.
(It shows that he come to Yangon)
The particle that follow noun and pronoun
1.Subject particle
1.(ka)
The Subject can appear with the case marker (ka) But the presence
of ka is completely optional in Burmese . This perticle express who
perfrom the action. (ka) can be called the subject particle. The
following particle make the noun
to become the topic of the sentence. They follow noun and
pronoun.
a.သသ-သ သသသသ-သသသသ
Thu-ka pjo-thi
He-subject marker speak-dec
He speaks.
b. သသ- (သ) သသသသသသသ -(သသသ) သသသ-သသသသ
thu-(ka) panthi-(ko) sa:-thi
he-(subject marker) (apple-object marker) eat-particle
He eat an apple.

2. (thi)
This particle is mostly in writing or in formal speech, such as news
broadcasts.
b. သသ-သသသ သသသသသသသ-သသသသ-သသသသ
thu-thi panjashi-pji-thi
he-subject marker wise man-is-dec
He is a wise man
3. (ma)
c. သသ-သသသ သသသသသသသ-သသသသ-သသ-သသသသ
thu-ma sukuba- twin-nei- thi
he-subject marker tsukuba- in- live- dec
He lives in tsukuba.

2. Object particle
1..(Ko)
Object particle (ko) must be attached to the object.
a. သသသသသ-သ သသသ-သသသ သသသသသသ-သသသသသသသ သသသ-သသသသ
gjon-ka thu-ko saoke-tioke pei-
thi
John-subject marker he-object marker book-a give-dec
John give him a book.

In sentence 4.a the particle (ka) is completely optional. It can be

omitted. But
The object marker (ko) cannot be omitted.

5. (a:)
a. သသသသသ -(သ) သသ-သသသ သသ-သသသသသသ-(သသသ)
သသသ-သသသသ
 gjon-(ka) thu-a: di-saoke-(ko)
pei-thi
John-subject marker he-object marker this-book
give-particle
John give him a book.
In above sentence the subject marker (ko) and the direct object
marker (ko)
can be omitted. But the indirect object marker (a:) cannot be
omitted.

3. Direction or Goal particles

(thou)
The particle (thou) express the goal or direction and it follows after
the place.
a. သသ သသသသသသသ -သသသသ သသသသ-သသသသ
nga kjau-thou thwaː-thi
I school- particle ɡo-dec
I go to school.

4.Leaving
The particles (ka) and (ma) express the the point of leaving time or arrivinɡ
time and they express the place that the subject start leaving and arrivinɡ .
1. ka
a. သသသသသသသ -သ သသ-သသသ-သသသသ
Yangon-ka la-ke-tel
Yangon-particle come-past-dec.
I came from Yangon.
(It shows that he come from Yangon)
b. သသ သသသသ -သ သသသသသသသ -သသသသ
sel nari-ka joula-tel
10 o’clock-particle arrive-dec
I arrived at 10 o’clock.
(It shows that he arrived at 10 o’clock)
c. သသ သသသသ -u သသသသသသ -သသသသ
sel nari-ka tweakla-tel
10 o’clock-particle leave-dec
I left at 10 o’clock.
(It shows that he start leaving at 10 o’clock)

d. သသသသသသသ -သသ သသ-သသသ-သသသသ

Yangon-ma la-ke-tel
Yangon-particle come-past-dec.
I came from Yangon.
(It shows that he come from Yangon)
e. သသ သသသသ -သသ သသသသသသသ-သသသသ
sel nari-ma joula-tel
10 o’clock-particle arrive-dec
I arrived at 10 o’clock.
(It shows that he arrived at 10 o’clock)
f. သသ သသသသ -သသ သသသသသသ-သသသသ
sel nari-ma tweakla-tel
10 o’clock-particle leave-dec
I left at 10 o’clock.
(It shows that he start leaving at 10 o’clock)

Ko
g. သသသသသသသ-သသသ သသ-သသသ-သသသသ
Yangon-ko la-ke-tel
Yangon-particle come-past-dec.
I came from Yangon.
(It shows that he come to Yangon)

5. (thou), (ahti)
1. (thou)
The particle (thou) is postpositional marker suffixed to a noun
indicating
direction (equivalent in usage to the locative preposition “to”).
a. သသသသသသသသသသ
-သသသ သသသ(သ)သသသသ-သသသသ သသသသ-သသသသ သသသသသသသသသ
-သသသသ
Maung Myint-thi njanei nga:nar ein-thou
pjanjhau’ –thi
-twin
Maung Myint-Nom evening 5 o’clolck home-particle
arrive- Dec
-particle
Muang Myint arrives at home at 5 o’clock.

b. သသသသသ သသသသသ သသသသ -သသသသ သသသသ-သသသသ

Maung Myint ein-thou pjan –thi
Maung Myint Home-particle return-particle
Maung Myint returns to home.

2. (ahti)
The particle (ahti) is postpositional marker indicating a certain span
of time
Or distance (equivalent in usage to prepositions “up to”, “until” ,
“till”).
a. သသသသသသသသသသ -သသသ သ (သ)သသသသ-သသ (သသ)သသသသ-သသသ သသသသသ-သသသသ
Maung Myint-thi nya(kuna)nari-ma senitnari-ahti
aspha’-thi
Maung Myint-Nom night(7)o’cclock (12) o’clock-particle read-
Dec
-particle
Myaung Myint reads the book from 7 o’clock until 12 o’clock at
night.

6. (hpjin) and (hnin)

1. (hpjin)
The particle (hpjin) is postpositional marker suffixed to a noun to
indicate
Instrumental case (equibalent to prepositions “with”, “by”)
a. သသသသသသသသသသ
-သသသ သသသသ-သသသ သသသသ-သသသသသ သသသသသ-
သသသသ
Maung Myint-thi kwei-ko tou’-hpjin jei.-thi
Maung Myint-Nom dog-object marker stick-particle hit-Dec
Maung Myint hit the dog with stick.

2. (hnin)
The particle (hnin) is postpositional marker suffixed to a noun to
indicate
the instrumental case (equivalent in usage to adverb “with”).
a. သသသသသသသသသသ
-သသသ သသသသ-သသသ သသသသ-သသသသသ သသသသသ-
သသသသ
Maung Myint-thi kwei-ko tou’-hnin jei.-thi
Maung Myint-Nom dog-object marker stick-particle hit-Dec
Maung Myint hit the dog with stick.

7. (gjaun)
The particle (gjaun) is postpositional marker indicating reason or
cause
(equivalent to prepositions “because of” , “due to” etc)
a. သသသသသသသသသသသ -သသသ သသသသ-သသသသသသသ သသသသသ
-သသသသ
sapa:pintou-thi pou:-gjaun pjeja-thi
Paddy-Nom insect-particle be ruined-Dec
Paddy is ruined because of insect.

8. (a:)
The particle (a:) is the word indicating detive case (equivalent to
the preposition “to”).
a. သသသသသသသသသသ
-သသသ သသသသသသ-သသသ သသသ-သသသ သသသ-သသသသ
Maung Myint-thi saoke-ko sya-a: pei-thi
Maung Myint-Nom book –objmarker teacher-particle give-Dec
Maung Myint give the book to the teacher.

9. (hma)
The particle (hma) is postpositional marker suffixed to a noun to
denote genitive case (collocating with the verb be, have ,etc).
a. သသသသသသသသ - သသသသသသ-သသသ သသသသ-သသသသ
zabji’ thi: achou-thi chin-thi
grapes-some -Nom sour-Dec
Some grapes are sour.

b.သသသသသသ-သသသ သသသသ-သသသသ
achou-hma Chou-thi
some-sub marker sweet-Dec
Some are sweet.
10. (twin)
The particle (twin) is postpositional marker indicatining place or
time ( equvilent in usage to the prepositions “in”,”at”,”among”).
a. သသသသသသသ-သသသ သသသသသ သသသသ-သသသသ သသသ-သသသသ
mi:jahta:-thi bago buta-twin ja’-thi
train-Nom bago station-particle stop-dec
The train stops at the bago station.

b. သသ-သသသ သသသသသ (သ)သသသသ-သသသသ သသသသသသ -သ သ-သသသသ

thu-thi nanet gjau’nari-twin ei’ja-ka hta-thi
he-Nom morning(6)o’clock-particle bec-particle wake up –Dec
He wake up from the bed at 6o’clock in the morning.

12. (we)
The particle (we) is the word which denotes time or place . This particle is
post positional marker suffixed to a noun to indicate either, temporal or
locative case (equivalent in usage to prepositions “by”, “at”, “in” )
a. သသသသသသသသ-သသသ သသသသသသသ -သသသ-သသသ သသသသသ-သသ-သသသသသသ
pja:mja:-thi panpin-the-we pjanwenei-kjathi
bee-Nom flower plants-above-particle fly –progressive-Dec
Bee are flying above the flower plants.

b. သသသသသသသသသသသသသသ - သသသ သသသသသသသသသသ -သသသ သသသသသ-သသသသ

khaun:laun:-ko nanetchain-we kja:ja-thi
bell ring-Nom morning-particle hear-Dec
Bell ring is heard in the morning.