*First of all: you hat is awesome!* -です Generally speaking, DESU is the polite form of the copula. [Of which the basic/informal form is だ -da-]. The particle you may use after does not affect its politeness, if not slightly. The two you have cited are used to underline or add emphasis to the sentence, specially in spoken language. a.ね -ne- is used to add emphasis or evidence, with a nuance of "request for agreement". ex. 今日はとても暑いですね。*kyô-wa totemo atsui desu-ne*. Which plainly translated is: "Today IS (polite form) very hot", the NE-particle make it sound a bit like "Today it is very hot, isn´t it?" b.よ -yo- is normally used to emphasize certainity/obviousness, often when awnsering a question. ex. あの方はchiosunkwoさんですか？*ano kata-wa chiosunkwo-san desu ka?* "Is that person over there Ms.chiosunkwo?" そうですよ *sou desu yo!* "It is -just/really- her!" c. Please note that the two parts are combined sometimes. You may meet a construction like: そうですよね -*sou desu-yone* (from the example above) "it is -really:(YO)- her, isn´t she:(NE)? -の: it is a complement-particle that indicates possession or specification. ex 誰の? *dare-no?* -Whose? Of whom?- (!)As you may already know it is always linked to the possessor, just like "saxon genitive". Thus: 犬のしっぽ *inu-no shippo* "Dog´s tail" = "The tail of the dog". 出身地はアメリカのどこですか? *shyusshinchi wa Amerika-no doko desu ka?* litt. "birthplace (wa:particle indicating object) America´ s/of America where is?" = "Where in America/In which part OF America is your birthplace?" -の(2): It can be used as a particle in verbal construction to add some emotion, with a slight nuance of surprise. ex. 本当なの? (informal)*honto na-no?* "is that true? (nuance: I though it was not)" 本当なんですか? (formal: の contracted to ん) *honto nan-desu ka?*

の isn't necesserily used for surprise, see "The「の」particle as explanation" in http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/nounparticles For Gobi (words at the end to express emotion), see e.g. http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/adverbs http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/sentence_ending Some Gobi are used differently by male and female speakers, so be careful when using them. None of these are really particles, BTW.