In spoken Lahu, the subject and/or object are often obvious. This is the case in example ‘I-read’ below, where the speaker is the subject and there is no object. In example ‘we-read’, the object particle hta would not normally be spoken in conversation as it is implied and obvious. In written Lahu, however, it is more acceptable to include the particles unless they are overly obvious.

Foreigners speaking Lahu often use too many particles in their speech. While the sentence may be correct it is not colloquial and may seem overly formal.

In examples such as those above, the subject and object are often very clear. In example ‘we read’, the book can only be read by us, it cannot read us. In more complex sentences, however, it is necessary to clarify various parts of the sentence such as identifying the subject and object. Particles allow us to do this.

The previous example demonstrates the use of the particles. In cases like this it is particularly necessary to qualify the subject and object to get the correct sense (who is teaching whom).