tada vs. dake / dakedemo Moe taught me the subtle difference between 'tada' and 'dake'. I already knew that they both could be translated 'just' or 'only' in English, but here is the main difference: tada: comes before a word and is a generic word with no inate positive or negative connotation Ex: tadakore wo tabereba ii yo = Eating this would be just fine. dake: follows a word and has two basic meanings, the generic one and ALSO a limiting or negative one. Ex: koredake tabereba ii yo = Eating just this is fine. (I don't want/need anything else.) demo: adding this particle to a word opens it up for other possibilities. Ex: koredakedemo tabereba ii yo = I'm fine with eating just this, but if There's something else added I'm fine with that too. Comment: I really like how these particles give subtle but important shape to the character of speech! It's like playing Mario Kart when you know how to power slide (drift)--it makes things so much more interesting. I welcome any and all corrections as long as they are constructive and helpful. Thanks everyone. -Cai