Б. С. Хаймович, Б. И. Роговская теоретическая грамматика английского языка

THE PARTICLE

§ 372. The particle as a part of speech is characterized by the following features:

1. Its lexico-grammatical meaning of 'emphatic specifi­cation'.
2. Its unilateral combinability with words of different classes, groups of words, even clauses.
3. Its function of a specifier (see § 471).

§ 373. Particles have no grammatical categories, no typical stem-building elements.

As far as their structure is concerned, they may be s i m p 1 e (just, still, yet, even, else), derivative (merely, simply, alone), compound (also).

§ 374. Very few particles (else, merely, solely) are not homonymous with other words. Most of them are identical in form with adverbs (exactly, precisely, simply, never, still), adjectives (even, right, just, only), pronouns (all, either), conjunctions (but), articles (the).

§ 375. As we know, the definitions of the lexico-grammati­cal meanings of parts of speech are' not general enough (see § 39). With particles it is, probably, more so than elsewhere because they are less uniform.

In most of them the meaning of 'emphatic specification' is quite obvious.
Only sixteen hundred talents, Pothius. (Shaw).
Why, man, Ireland was peopled just as England was. (Ib.).
I never thought of that then. (Ib.).
I notice that there is but one chair in it. (Ib.).
But there are particles in whose meanings there is as much 'emphatic specification' as there is 'action' in the verb belong or 'substance' in the noun faith. There are, for instance, the connective particles also, too, else, either.
They seem to resemble the conjunction and lexically, but their properties are different. Compare, for instance, the particle too and the conjunctions and, if in the following sentence. If life is dull, you can be dull tоо, а п d no harm is done. (Shaw). Different lexically, the conjunctions if, and have the same lexico-grammatical meaning of 'relations between...' in accordance with which each of them shows the relation between two clauses without interfering lexically with their content. The particle too in fact 'specifies' the pronoun you (you too can be dull), but as a condition of that specification it requires, in accordance with its lexical mean­ing, that the content of the clause, of which the specified word is part, should be similar to the content of the previous clause. Thus it connects the two clauses lexically.

§ 376. As a rule, the combinability of particles is unilateral and variable. They can specify different classes of words of clauses. Most of them precede the unit they specify, but some particles follow it, as in the case of too. Here are a few illus­trations of the combinability of the particle only.

By George, if she only knew that two men were talk­ing about her like this! (Shaw).
A sestertius is о n l у w о r t h a loaf of bread. (Ib.).
You look only f i f t у in it. (Ib.).
Is it nothing to you what wicked thing you do if о n l y you do it like a gentleman? (Ib.).

§ 377. Like most particles not can be used with different classes of words or clauses (not he, not the student, not beauti­ful, not forty, not yesterday, not to see, not seeing, not when he comes).

The peculiarity of not (n't) as a predicate negation in don't, can't, won't, etc. will be described in 'Syntax', § 393.