Particles

Observation
ᓄᐧᐃᒡ ᐧᐁᔥᑲᒡ ᑳ ᐋᐦᑯᓯᑦ᙮ nuwich weshkach kaa aahkusit. S/he has been sick for a long time.
ᑮᐹ ᑳ ᐧᐋᐸᒪᒃ᙮ kiipaa kaa waapamak. Of course I saw him.

The words ᐧᐁᔥᑲᒡ weshkach and ᑮᐹ kiipaa in the sentences above are called particles.

Particles are small words (ayimuwinisha) that always stay the same (unlike nouns and verbs that take inflection, particles do not take inflection). They can have many different meanings, used to modify the meaning of the verb or the sentence. They work like what is called adverbs, conjunctions or interjections in English or French.

In the Cree dictionary, particles (p) were classified in the following sub-categories, based on their meaning types.

Particle Type Meaning Example
affirmative words for saying ‘yes’ or expressing agreement ᐁᐦᐁ ehe yes
conjunction used to join phrases and sentences, ‘and, or, but’ ᑲᔦᐦ kayeh also
dem, (focus,) location words used for pointing to a place (sometimes with focus) ᓀᑌᐦ neteh way over there
emphasis no specific meaning but adds emphasis to other words ᐧᐁᔅ wes
evaluative words that give a judgement on a situation, ‘for sure, unnecessary’ ᒉᔓᐙᑦ cheshuwaat since at least, lucky that
interjection words that are often said as an exclamation, ‘listen!, look!, try!’ and politeness words, ‘hello, thank you’ ᐊᐧᐊᔅ awas away!, be gone!, get away!
location includes prepositions ‘below, on top’, adverbs ‘on one side, upwind’ and directions ‘east’ ᓃᑳᓐ niikaan in front, ahead
manner adverbial words like ‘very, incorrectly, secretly’ ᒣᒣᐦᒡ memehch in many different ways
negative words for saying ‘no, not’ ᐁᑳ eka not, unless
number numbers ᑯᐧᑖᔓᔖᑉ kutwaashushaap sixteen
quantity amounts like ‘four pounds, three times’ and adverbs like ‘a lot, all, some’ ᐋᐱᐦᑑ aapihtuu half
question words like ‘when’ and the yes-no question marker aa ᒉᒄ chekw which, which one?
time includes prepositions ‘before’, adverbs ‘sometimes’ and time expressions ‘last summer’ ᒉᔅᑲᑦ cheskat often

Warning: Some particles can be identical (homonymous) to corresponding preverb or  initial.