The particle “ir” – descriptions and usage in contemporary standard written Lithuanian

Abstract

As stated in Lithuanian grammars, the particle ir (also) is used to single out, intensify, and connect words, phrases, and sentences. In Lithuanian dictionaries, ir is considered to be not only a particle but also an adverb. In the current study, the lexical unit ir is viewed as a conjunction and as a particle. Thus, when selecting the instances of the particle ir, it was, first of all, established whether ir functions as a conjunction, which connects homogeneous parts of a sentence or sentences. In all other cases, ir was treated as a particle. In total, 33,339 cases of the usage of ir were found; however, ir as a particle was used in 2,716 instances. Besides, it was found that in 1781 cases the particle ir was used after conjunctions, linking words and other particles. In most cases, the particle ir is used with nouns and noun phrases, when it is important to emphasize their meaning, for example: Aš ir arbatos išvirčiau. (I would make some tea as well.) Sometimes, the particle ir is used with nouns in order to complement them. In such cases, the particle ir corresponds to multi-word particles taip pat, taip pat ir, for example: Tokį pat poveikį sukelia ir kofeinas, alkoholis ar padidėjęs nervingumas. (The same effect is also caused by caffeine, alcohol, or increased anxiety.) When the particle ir is used before verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, it performs an emphatic function. If the particle ir is used before pronouns or pronoun phrases, it functions as an additive particle. Moreover, when used before prepositional constructions, the particle ir may perform both additive and emphatic functions. Thus, in most cases, the particle ir is emphatic, whereas its other functions depend on the part of speech of the word it emphasizes and the context. The particle ir also interacts with a functional sentence perspective. [...].