More on Particles

I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted. Lately I've been busy visiting family for Thanksgiving, so I haven't had a chance to do much grammar study. But now that I'm back, I can finish off Chapter 11 of Genki and close in on the last chapter of the first book.

This post is a bit of a mish-mash of various particle usages, so it's not going to flow particularly well.

The particle は is often used in negative sentences for the sake of contrast. For example:

スポーツはしてないよ。
I don't play sports.

I could've used を there (as in スポーツをする, to play sports), but the negative sentence makes the usage of the は particle sound more natural.

It's also common to use は after に and で for a more natural flow. These examples are from Genki.

英語では話したくないです。
I don't want to speak in English.

広島には行ったことがありません。
I've never been to Hiroshima.

In the case of では, having the は is the difference between something like "at high school" and "as for at high school..." It makes the high school sound more significant since it now has the topic marker on it.

For には, having the は again places more emphasis on the prior noun. This could be the difference between "I've never been to Hiroshima" and "I've never been to Hiroshima", perhaps implying that the person has been elsewhere.

Another place には is commonly used is when describing a location and the things that are found there. Again, this is from Genki.

東京にはデパートがたくさんあります。
東京にデパートがたくさんあります。
There are many department stores in Tokyo.

Without the は, the sentence sounds more like a factual statement, or an answer to the question "Where do you find many department stores?" With the は included, it sounds like a more broad statement that discusses what Tokyo is like as a city.

Finally, the particle に can also be used to state the occasion or purpose of an item.

昼ごはんにお菓子を食べた。
I ate candy at lunch.

リーさんの誕生日のパーティにお酒を飲んだよ。
I drank at Lee's birthday party.

プレゼントに手紙を書いた。
I wrote a letter as a gift.