What are Modal Particles?

(Modalpartikel)

• Modal Particles are also known as "Shading Particles" because they show
different shades of meanings of other words.
• They are mainly used in spoken language and show the speaker's feelings,
attitude and mood.
• They can strengthen or weaken the statement.
• They are usually in the middle of the sentence after the verb and any
pronouns.
Modal particle
Modal particles are very common in German, but don't
exist in English. The usual way to translate modal particles
is to ignore them.
Mach doch was du willst!
Do what you want!
Using the Modal Particles
Modal particles often have very different meanings:
 Use of „ja“
 1. It expresses that everything happened as expected:
• „Das musste ja passieren.“
 2. It expresses surprise or wonder:
• „Das war ja einfach.“
 3. It expresses a warning:
• „Mach das ja nie wieder.
1.Adverb
Sie sagte, sie würde daheim bleiben, aber sie ist doch gekommen.
She came allthough she said she would stay at home.
2.Answer particle
Used to anser a question, containing a negation, if you want to say that the negation is not the case.
Ich habe dir doch nicht weh getan? - Doch, das hast du.
I hope, I didn't hurt you? - Yes, you did.
4.Conjunction
Ich habe ihn eingeladen, doch er wollte nicht kommen.
I invited him, but he didn't want to come.
5.part of the phrase »wenn auch - so doch«
Wenn auch die Schauspieler schlecht waren, so hat mir doch das Stück gefallen.
Even if the actors was bad, so I still liked the play.
a
Use of „doch“

 There are main uses of the word doch in German that I’ve encountered are:
• To counter a negative
• To say “actually”, “and yet”, “after all”, or “but”
• To tone down statements
• To seek confirmation
Doch to counter a negative
 The first way in which you use doch in German to counter a negative,
to contradict a negative statement.
A: We don't need raincoats today. (We can leave them at home.)
B: Yes we do! I see dark clouds!
A: Wir brauchen keine Regenjacken heute.
B: Doch! Ich sehe dunkele Wolken!
 Eg.II:
1. Person A: „Du bist nicht fleißig.“ (You are not hardworking.)
2. Person B: „Doch, ich bin fleißig.“ (Yes, I am hardworking.)
1. Affirmation: „Doch“ can be used to affirm or confirm a statement that is being questioned or
doubted. For example:
1. Person A: „Du kommst nicht mit?“ (You’re not coming along?)
2. Person B: „Doch, ich komme mit.“ (Yes, I am coming along.)
2. Emphasis: „Doch“ can be used to add emphasis to a statement, reinforcing its validity. For
example:
1. Person A: „Niemand kann das besser als ich.“ (Nobody can do it better than me.)
2. Person B: „Doch, das kannst du.“ (Yes, you can.)
3. Counteracting a negative question: „Doch“ can be used to counteract a negative question and
imply a positive answer. For example:
1. Person A: „Hast du das nicht gesehen?“ (Didn’t you see that?)
2. Person B: „Doch, habe ich.“ (Yes, I did see it.)
The Difference between "Aber" & "Doch"
When do "Aber" & "Doch" mean the same?

 First, let's have a look at when "aber" & "doch" mean the same. Aber & doch can both
be translated as "but" and in those contexts, they are interchangable.
 Consider this sentence:
 Ich habe dich gesucht, aber ich konnte dich nicht finden.
 Will the meaning of
This sentence change, if we replace the word "aber" with "doch"?
The answer is no, the meaning will stay the same.
And why is that so?
Because in both sentences, "aber" & "doch" can simply be translated with "but".
 So the above sentence has exactly the same meaning as this sentence:
 Ich habe dich gesucht, doch ich konnte dich nicht finden.
 When aber and doch are used as conjunctions, you can swap them out for one
another, without changing the meaning of the sentence.
"Aber" as a Modal Particle

 A second meaning of aber that is very common with native German speakers is its use
as a modal particle.
 Here are two example sentences that include 'aber' as a
modal
 Das warparticle:
aber ein interessanter Film!s
Now that was an interesting movie!
Das war aber ein schöner Urlaub!
Now that was a beautiful holiday!
In these sentences, the word 'aber' is used to express that the film wasn'st
just interesting, but very interesting.
And the holiday wasn't just beautiful, but an especially beautiful holiday.
When using 'aber' in this way, there is also an element of surprise there:
I might have expected the holiday to turn out beautiful, but I didn't expect
that it would be that beautiful. After seeing the trailer for the film, I might
have looked forward to watching the film, but didn't expect it would
be that amazing.
Lies die Dialoge und ergänze Ja, Nein oder Doch.
 A: Hast du keine Geschwister?
B: .............., ich habe einen Bruder.

 A: Kommst du aus Portugal?

 A: Isst du gern Fisch?

 A: Habt ihr keine Hausaufgaben?