The Russian language seems to be filled with little particles, often two-letter ones, that add emphasis and shades of meaning, and are frequently used in colloquial speech. I don't remember ever studying the colloquial function of many of these in class, but they really help you express yourself more forcefully (and less formally).

At some point they just started slipping into my sentences of their own accord, and I found myself thinking - huh, I just threw an «уж» into that sentence, wonder why? Уж is most often used as an intensifier with pronouns and adverbs in conversational speech: «Да ты не расстраивайся, всё не так уж плохо» (Don't worry, things aren't all that bad). I often hear it used with я, where it seems to just add a more general emphasis to the meaning of the sentence: «Придешь сегодня вечером? » - «Уж я и не знаю - устала я.» ("Are you coming tonight?" "I'm really not sure - I'm so tired.")

The particle же can also be used as an intensifier, but most non-native speakers remember it best as part of phrases indicating that two things are identical, like такой же, там же, тогда же and so forth. «Он такой же пьяница, как и его отец.» (He's a drunk, just like his father.)

But in more expressive speech, же can add emphasis to the word it follows, often a question word. In Gogol's "The Inspector General", the mayor voices his concern about the overzealous teacher who gets so excited during history lessons that he starts breaking chairs: «Оно, конечно, Александр Македонский герой, но зачем же стулья ломать?» (Christopher English's translation: All right, Alexander was a great man, but that's no reason to smash the furniture.)

Teaching can be stressful sometimes: «Что же мне делать с моими студентами? Я же видел, как они все во время экзамена списывали - но нельзя же им всем поставить двойки.» (What am I going to do with my students? I saw all of them cheating on the test, but I can't very well fail all of them!)

A Russian friend commented that television personalities tend to overuse this particle, making what should be a simple statement of fact sound overwrought: «А сейчас мы узнаем, какая же завтра нас ждет погода.» (Maybe something like: And now, at last, we'll find out what the weather will be like tomorrow.)

Then there are those particles that actually get tacked on to the end of words, like -то and -ка. The former, again, adds emphasis to whatever noun it is attached to. If someone asks you something that you have no way of knowing, you might respond with: «А я-то откуда знаю?» (How the heck should I know?) You are emphasising the fact that there is no reason that you, out of all the other people who could be asked this question, should know the answer. This one can also serve as a nice touch if you want to dismiss someone without wasting too many words: «Ты-то чего в клуб припёрся, старый хрыч?» (What the hell are you doing at the club, you old fart?)

Note a helpful type of response where -то casts doubt on the relative merit of the concept expressed by the preceding word: «Он тебе заплатил?» - «Заплатить-то заплатил, но только за январь.» (Did he pay you? Yeah, he did, but only for January.) «Чего не пьёшь? Вино хорошее.» - «Хорошее-то оно хорошее, но у меня язва.» (Why aren't you drinking? The wine's good. - Maybe so, but I've got an ulcer.)

Unlike the other particles I've mentioned, -ка is used with imperatives, and it usually softens the force of a command, often adding a touch of (inappropriate) familiarity:

«Начальник 1: Дайте мне, пожалуйста, синюю папку.» Секретарша: «Пожалуйста. »

(Boss 1: "Can you hand me the blue folder, please?" Secretary: "Here you are.")

Начальник 2: «Дайте-ка мне синюю папку!» Секретарша (в сторону): «Сам возьмешь.»

(Boss 2: "Toss me that blue folder, hon!" Secretary (aside): "Get it yourself.")

This particle can also be used with perfective verbs to express intention: «По домашнему не отвечает - позвоню-ка я ему на мобильный.» (He isn't answering his home phone. Let me try his mobile).

The particle таки (written with a dash after particles, verbs and adverbs, but without in all other cases) can often be translated as "after all", or some other phrase to that effect.

Our resourceful caller might thus exclaim: «Дозвонился-таки! Он таки от меня не спрятался!» (I got through to him after all! He can't hide from me.)

If all these particles are blurring your grasp of the semantics of -таки, remember Galileo. After being forced to recant his theory that the earth moves around the sun, Galileo is famously alleged to have muttered: And yet it moves. The standard Russian translation of the proverbial phrase, unsurprisingly, contains the four-letter particle:

«И всё-таки она вертится!»