Brottin

TOPIC · Adverbs & particles

Focus Particles

A1

After this lesson you can understand and use basic German focus particles like nur, auch, sogar, selbst, bloß and vor allem in simple sentences.

In this lesson you learn small words like nur, auch, sogar that show what is important in the sentence. These are called Fokuspartikeln (focus particles). They do not change the grammar, but they change meaning and emphasis.

1Important focus particles at A1 level

PartikelMeaning (short info)ExampleTranslation / meaning
nurlimited to somethingIch habe nur eine Stunde Zeit.I have only one hour in total, not more.
auchadditionally, “as well”Sie kommt auch zur Party.She is coming to the party as well; someone else is already coming.
sogarsurprising, stronger than expectedEr kann sogar drei Sprachen sprechen.It is surprising that he can speak three languages.
selbstsurprising, often with personsSelbst der Lehrer hat das nicht gewusst.Even the teacher didn’t know that.
bloßcolloquial for „nur“Er hat bloß einen Apfel gegessen.He only ate an apple, nothing else.
vor allemespecially, the most important partVor allem die Kinder hatten Spaß.Above all / Especially the children had fun.

Note: nur and bloß are very similar; bloß is more colloquial.

2Position in the sentence

The focus particle stands directly before the word or part that is in focus.

  • nur before a noun:
    • Ich trinke nur Wasser. (not juice, not cola)
  • nur before the verb:
    • Ich will nur schlafen. (do nothing else)
  • auch shows “in addition”:
    • Lara kommt auch. (not only another person)
  • sogar / selbst show surprise:
    • Sogar mein Bruder hilft mir.
    • Selbst mein Bruder hilft mir.

The main clause word order stays the same: Position 1 – Verb – .... The focus particle does not change the grammar, only the emphasis.

3Small meaning differences

  • Ich habe nur gestern gearbeitet. (on no other day)
  • Ich habe gestern nur gearbeitet. (I did no other activity)

The position of nur shows what is limited: gestern or gearbeitet.

4Examples in context

  • Sogar meine Katze mag den neuen Kratzbaum.
    → It is surprising that my cat likes the new scratching post.

  • Ich will nicht nur ein Buch lesen.
    → Reading a book is not enough; I want to do more.

5Practice

  1. Add a suitable focus particle (nur, auch, sogar, selbst, bloß, vor allem):

    • Ich habe ___ gestern einen Film gesehen.
    • Das ist ___ nicht so einfach.
    • ___ die Kinder wollen heute draußen spielen.

  2. Write two sentences with nur and two with auch.

  3. Underline in each sentence the part in focus:

    • Ich trinke nur Kaffee am Morgen.
    • Vor allem meine Freunde aus Deutschland helfen mir.